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The male of this species is readily identified by the large spine-like projection emerging from the center rear of T7, this is very noticable at low magnifications. The female has a distinctive T6. Its profile from the side is straight to slightly concave, the rear two-thirds of the segment is slightly pressed inward on the sides as if squeezed by the thumb and forefinger. These sides are covered by white appressed white hairs and the ridge between the sides are covered with black appressed hairs.
Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.
FEMALE — Length 11-12 mm.; entirely black, including tegulae and legs, spurs pale yellow; eyes subparallel; clypeal margin straight and entire; mandibles 4-dentate,
short bevelled edge between 3rd and 4th teeth; lateral ocelli subequally distant from eyes and margin of vertex; cheeks somewhat broader than eyes; vertex shining, punctures deep and distinct, rather fine and close between ocelli, slightly coarser and more distinctly separated laterally, rather fine and close on cheeks; face rather coarsely rugoso-punctate just below ocelli, but becoming minutely and closely punctate laterally, supraclypeal area quite coarsely, deeply and closely punctate throughout, clypeus with fine, densely crowded punctures across upper margin, these becoming somewhat coarser and more distinct but still close apically; pubescence white, rather copious and elongate around antennae and on sides of face, rather short on cheeks above, becoming more elongate below, erect and fuscous between ocelli and across vertex; thorax with rather copious, elongate, whitish pubescence laterally and posteriorly, scutum largely covered with erect,black hairs, becoming whitish along anterior margin, scutellum with a few rather short, inconspicuous, black hairs interspersed among the more elongate, white hairs; scutum somewhat shining, punctures deep and distinct, quite coarse, somewhat separated medially but becoming densely crowded laterally, scutellum with a rather sparsely punctate and shining median line, punctures deep, distinct and close on each side, those on axillae very fine and densely crowded; pleura dull and rather coarsely punctate below, becoming finer and densely crowded above; lateral faces of propodeum smooth but rather dull, posterior face more velvety, with close but exceedingly minute and vague punctures; mid and hind basitarsi slightly shorter but about as broad as their tibiae, front basitarsi considerably narrower; tegulae shining, punctures very fine but slightly separated; wings subhyaline, veins brownish-piceous; abdominal terga 2-4 shallowly grooved across base, basal margin of grooves distinct but not carinate, apical margins of terga depressed laterally but not medially; terga 2-5 with entire, whitish, apical fasciae, these very narrow on 2 and 3, basal tergum with rather copious, elongate, whitish pubescence, discal pubescence of following terga shorter but copious, entirely fuscous except across base of 2; punctures of terga very fine and slightly separated medially, becoming somewhat closer laterally on the more basal terga, somewhat deeper and more distinct, rather widely separated but not sparse on 3-5; sternum 6 very slightly convex in profile, almost straight, with no erect hairs visible, but with erect dark hairs visible toward base in dorsal view, rather densely covered with pale appressed tomentum apically, this part evenly sloping on each side
of an obscure, median ridge; sternum 6 rather well covered with short, black scopal hairs, with a short, apical fringe of very short, fuscous hairs; scopa white, with some black hairs on sternum 5 laterally, the more basal sterna very finely and densely punetate, becoming somewhat more sparsely and coarsely so on the more apical sterna, apical margins narrowly hyaline; sternal fasciae not evident.
MALE — Length 10-11 mm.; black, tegulae somewhat more brownish-testaceous, front tar- si yellow, mid and hind legs black, spurs pale yellow; eyes very slightly convergent below; clypeal margin straight and entire beneath dense pubescence; mandibles 3-dentate (fig. 47), inferior process somewhat removed from base, rather slender and acute; apical segment of flagellum flattened and considerably dilated; lateral ocelli very slightly nearer eyes than to margin of vertex; cheeks subequal to eyes in width, narrowed below, obscurely angulate just below base of mandible; vertex shining, punctures deep and distinct, rather close and fine between ocelli but rather widely separated laterally, close and rather coarse on cheeks above, becoming very fine and densely crowded below; face below ocelli with a few scattered, distinct punctures, becoming densely rugose laterally, very finely so below; pubescence yellowish-white, copious and elongate around antennae and over lower part of face, rather thin and whitish on cheeks above, becoming more elongate below, vertex with elongate and erect, whitish hairs, with a few short, black hairs evident on each side; thorax with rather copious, elongate, whitish pubescence laterally and posteriorly and over anterior half of scuturn, posterior half of scutum with a ratherconspicuous patch of elongate, fuscous hairs, scutellum and axillae with entirely whitish hairs; scutum somewhat shining between coarse and very close punctures medially, becoming dull, with densely crowded punctures elsewhere, punctures slightly separated on scutellum medially but becoming close and rather coarse laterally, very fine and densely crowded on axillae, pleura rather dull, punctures very close th’roughout; lateral faces of propodeum smooth but rather dull, posterior face somewhat velvety, with exceedingly minute, close and rather vague punctures; front tarsi and apex of front tibiae yellow, the basitarsus somewhat excavated anteriorly, but slightly narrower than the tibiae, posterior fringe white, quite dense and rather elongate; front tibia fuscous on outer face except at base, the other two faces more reddish-testaceous; posterior face of front femora piceous, the carinate lower rim yellow, upper and anterior faces more testaceous; front coxal spines well developed but rather short and narrow, narrowly rounded at apex, anterior surface of coxae somewhat shining and minutely punctate, but with an obscure patch of very short, pale bristles at base of spine; mid tibial spur well developed, mid basitarsi short and rather slender, with a posterior fringe of very much elongated, white hairs; hind basitarsi quite short and narrow; tegulae very minutely and rather closely punctate; wings subhyaline, faintly clouded apically, veins brownish to piceous; abdominal terga 2 and 3 rather deeply depressed across base, basal margins distinct but not carinate, 4 and 5 very slightly depressed, but basal margin quite distinct, apical margins of the more basal terga slightly depressed laterally, depressed
across entire width on 4 and 5, terga densely white fasciate apically, rather thinly so medially on 2 and 3, basal tergum with copious, elongate, whitish pubescence, 2 with shorter, largely white pubescence, 3-5 with erect but rather short blackish pubescence, 5 with some pale tomentum across the base; punctures minute and obscure on basal tergum, fine but quite distinct and slightly separated on the following terga, 6 pale tomentose toward base, punctures fine, rather close medially but becoming somewhat more sparse laterally, carina sub- triangular in outline, sometimes obscurely crenulate on each side, but entire medially, the tip narrowly rounded or subacute, median teeth of apical margin broadly carinate, considerably nearer the obscure, lateral angles than to each other; sternum 7 produced medially to an acute, spine-like process; sterna 1-4 exposed, very finely punctate, punctures rather sparse toward apical margin of each plate, closer basally, apical margins narrowly yellowish-hyaline, thinly long pubescent; lateral pubescent plates of sternum 5 rather poorly defined, setose area broad but not entirely filling median length of plate, setae fine, uniformly distributed, but those along basal margin long and iilated apically (fig. 48); sternum 6 with quite extensive setose areas, only slightly separated medially, setae sinuate, apical lobe broad and very short, lateral angles acute; gonocoxites narrowed above base, apical half dilated and slightly sinuate (fig. 49).
DISTRIBUTION — North Carolina to Florida, March to June.
FLOWER RECORDS — Crataegus, Cuscut ci, flex, Rubus and Senecio.
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