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 8.5 mm.; lateral ocelli very slightly nearer margin of vertex than to each other; cheeks slightly more than half width of eyes, hind margin strongly carinate; longer side of basal segment of flagellum equal to segment 2, median segments very slightly longer than broad; mandibles slender and simple apically; wings subhyaline basally, becoming quite strongly infuscated n apical margin and in marginal cell, with the usual three submarginal cells, 2nd usually not much broader anteriorly than 3rd, veins piceous, stigma somewhat more testaceous, basal vein interstitial or nearly with transverse median; tegulae deeply, distinctly, rather coarsely and closely punctate; posterior margin of scutellum very slightly impressed medially; front coxal spines well developed but quite densely pubescent and obscure; apex of hind tibiae with a row of 4 or 5 very short bristles which do not project beyond the finer whitish pubescence beneath; head and thorax chiefly red, flagellum somewhat more brownish beneath, piceous above, head with some black above antennae, around ocelli and on posterior margin of cheeks, prothorax laterally and beneath, and front coxae in part, black; pleura below, metapleura, mid coxae and propodeum, in large part black, and scutum with a rather faint median longitudinal black line; legs testaceous to ferruginous, spurs pale yellow; abdomen chiefly red, impressed apical margins of the more apical terga becoming yellowishhyaline; punctures of face above antennae and on vertex and cheeks close, deep, distinct and quite coarse, becoming very fine and close on supraclypeal area and clypeus, relatively coarse and slightly separated on each side of face below antennae; scutum very coarsely rugoso-punctate, scutellum somewhat more finely so, pleura below coarsely and very closely punctate, but with some narrow, shining interspaces evident, becoming quite densely rugoso-punctate above; lateral faces of propodeum finely rugose in part but with some smooth, somewhat shining spaces, posterior face quite densely and finely rugoso-punctate, triangle impunctate but dull, upper margin obscurely striate on each side; abdominal terga quite deeply, rather finely and closely punctate, more finely so on basal tergum which becomes more minutely and sparsely punctate toward base, apical rims of the terga narrowly impunctate; tergum 5 quite finely and closely punctate across basal margin, becoming somewhat more coarsely and sparsely punctate toward apex; pseudopygidium transverse, very short, forming the rather narrow apex of tergum 5, densely covered with sub- erect, very fine, silvery tomentum; pubescence very short and thin, erect in large part, entirely white or pale yellow where evident.
MALE�Length 8.5-9.5 mm.; lateral ocelli slightly nearer margin of vertex than to each other; cheeks nearly subequal to eyes in width, not noticeably carinate posteriorly; antennal scape strongly swollen, apex deeply excavated and completely hiding pedicel, longer side of basal segment of flagellum shorter than segment 2, the more apical segments shorter, not much longer than broad, segment 3 with a minute but distinct ventral spine, apical segment somewhat elongated and acuminate; mandibles slender and simple; wings subhyaline basally, becoming lightly infuscated along apical margin and in marginal cell, with the usual three submarginal cells, 2nd usually not much broader anteriorly than 3rd, veins piceous, stigma somewhat more reddish, basal vein slightly basad of transverse median, or in some specimens interstitial with it; tegulae closely, deeply and rather coarsely punctate throughout; posterior margin of scutellum very slightly impressed medially; front coxal spines well developed, but quite densely pubescent and obscure; lower margin of hind femora flattened or concave, with distinct anterior and posterior subcarinate margins; entire face below antennae, except for tips of mandibles and scape anteriorly, bright yellow; face above, vertex and cheeks black; antennal flagellum yellowish-testaceous beneath, piceous to black above; pronotal collar narrowly yellow along the carinate margin, tubercles testaceous, tegulae more reddish testaceous, pleura usually with a small, anterior, yellow maculation and metanotum with a pair of sublateral yellow spots, the scutellum red and scutum with red infusions; front and mid legs largely testaceous, front tibiae yellow apically, hind legs more ferruginous, spurs pale yellow; punctures of face above antennae, on vertex and cheeks coarse, close, deep, and distinct, becoming somewhat finer on cheeks below, very fine, shallow and obscure on maculated areas below antennae; scutum and scutellum densely and rather coarsely rugoso-punctate, scutellum somewhat more finely so, pleura quite coarsely rugoso-punctate in general, lower surface somewhat obscured with whitish tomentum; lateral faces of propodeum rather dull, with very shallow but quite close punctures, posterior face finely and closely punctate beneath, with rather copious pale pubescence, triangle impunctate, becoming rather finely substriate along upper margin; abdominal terga with conspicuous yellow maculations, widely interrupted on 1 and 2, the resulting lateral marks on 1 transverse and rather narrow, those on 2 broad laterally, becoming strongly narrowed toward mid-line, those on 3-6 entire, strongly narrowed medially on 3, basal area of 2 and 3 ferruginous, and tergum 1 ferruginous medially and in vicinity of maculation, terga otherwise blackish, tip of abdomen more ferruginous; punctures of abdominal terga deep, distinct, very close and rather coarse in general, finer on tergum 1 basally, only the very narrow apical rims impunctate, that on 5 somewhat broader and more ferruginous in color; abdominal sterna largely ferruginous, apical margins rather broadly yellowish-hyaline, punctures deep, distinct and rather close; pubescence entirely pale, short, quite copious in general, more whitish laterally and beneath, more yellowish above, hardly evident on abdomen dorsally, but rather dense beneath, especially on the more apical sterna, forming a quite dense subapical fringe of elongate yellowish hairs on 5, sternum 6 with rather dense tufts of elongate yellowish hairs at each side; pygidial plate about as broad at base as median length, strongly narrowed apically, tip very slightly incised, surface quite closely and rather deeply punctate, the punctures becoming minute and obscure apically; sternum 8 and genital armature similar to those in rubicunda (figs. 103 & 104).
DISTRIBUTION�North Dakota to the New England States, south to Louisiana and Florida, April to August.
FLOWER RECORDS�Apocynum, Erigeron, Hypochaeris, Melilotus, Ranunculus and Senecio. This species has been recorded by Robertson on the following additional genera: Amorpha, Aruncus, Camassia, Ceanothus, Chrysanthemum, Coreopsis, Crataegus, Dianthera, Geranium, Houstonia, Krigia, Malva, Nepta, Nothoscordum, Oxalis, Potentilla, Rubus, Rudbeckia, Taenidia, Trifolium and Zizia.
The name americana is not used for this species because of the uncertainty with respect to its identity. The type has not been located, and without that specimen it is not possible to relate it confidently to any of the apparently allied species.
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