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 9-11.5 mm.; lateral ocelli subequally distant from margin of vertex and each other; cheeks much narrower than eyes, posterior margin carinate; basal segment of flagellum much shorter than segment 2, the shorter side no more than half the
of 2; mandibles slender and simple apically; wings subhyaline basally, becoming somewhat infuscated apically and in marginal cell, with the usual three submarginal cells, much broader than 3rd anteriorly, veins testaceous to piceous, basal vein considerably
basad of transverse median; tegulae very closely, deeply and rather coarsely punctate throughout; posterior margin of scutellum rather deeply impressed medially; front coxae not spined; apex of hind tibiae with a dense brush of short dark bristles separated from a posterior angle by an emarginate area; face largely yellow below level of antennae, clypeal sutures black in part, eyes completely encircled yellow, and a rounded yellow spot below anterior ocellus; median areas of face above vertex and posterior half of cheeks, black; scape yellow anteriorly, becoming piceous posteriorly, basal segment of flagellum more brownish-testaceous, following segments more reddish-piceous; pronotal collar, tubercles, tegulae, lateral margins and a pair of submedian longitudinal lines on scutum, scutellum, adjacent median area of metanotum except center, posterior face of propodeum except mid-line, median transverse area of mesopleura and a rounded spot above, bright yellow, intervening areas largely black, but below more or less ferruginous; front legs, including coxae, largely yellow, trochanters and femora more or less ferruginous posteriorly; mid and hind coxae yellow, the trochanters ferruginous, mid femora ferruginous at base becoming yellow apically, the tibiae and tarsi largely yellow; hind femora yellow part, the posterior and ventral surfaces piceous, tibiae and basitarsi largely yellow, the more apical tarsal segments testaceous; spurs pale yellow; abdominal terga 2-5 with broad, extensive, yellow bands occupying most of discs, tergum 1 with a narrow yellow band, blackish basally and apically, 2 very narrowly piceous or blackish across base, apical impressed areas of 2 and 3 dark reddish-piceous, more testaceous on 4 and 5; discs of abdominal sterna yellow in large part, the apical, impressed areas more testaceous-hyaline; punctures of head in large part coarse, deep and close but quite distinct, becoming somewhat finer and closer on supra-area, very fine and vague on clypeus; scutum, scutellum and mesopleura coarsely rugoso-punctate, propodeum somewhat more finely so; discs of abdominal terga very finely and closely punctate throughout, but tergum 1 becoming impunctate laterally and basally, and the more apical punctures on tergum 5 becoming rather sparse and coarse; pseudo-pygidium transverse, very narrow, forming the rather broadly truncate apical margin of tergum 5, densely covered with suberect silvery length very tomentum; pubescence very short and thin, somewhat more copious on head, especially below, whitish below, more yellowish above, hardly evident on abdomen dorsally, abdominal sterna with more sparse and elongate pale hairs; apex of sternum 5 with lateral tufts of elongate, yellowish hairs which converge medially.
MALE—Length 9.5-11 mm.; lateral ocelli very slightly nearer margin of vertex than to each other; cheeks somewhat narrower than eyes, posterior margin obscurely carinate; antennal flagellum swollen, apex deeply excavated and completely enclosing pedicel, basal segment of flagellum no more than half length of segment 2, median segments considerably longer than broad; mandibles slender and simple antennal pie apically; wings hyaline basally, becoming very lightly infuscated apically and in marginal cell, with the usual three submarginal cells, 2nd considerably broader anteriorly than 3rd, veins testaceous, basal vein much basad of transverse median; tegulae very closely, quite deeply and uniformly punctate throughout; posterior margin of scutellum quite deeply depressed medially; front coxae not spinose; hind femora slender and unmodified; lower half of face largely yellow, but with a narrow, blackened area below each antenna reaching margin of clypeus, the supraclypeal area yellow, lateral maculae ending rather abruptly slightly above level of antennae; face above, vertex, and cheeks in large part, black, the lower end of cheeks yellow; antennal scape yellow anteriorly, blackish posteriorly, flagellum piceous; pronotal collar, tubercles, tegulae, two separated maculations on scutellum, a pair of rather small, lateral maculations on propodeum below, and a large anterior maculation on mesopleura, bright yellow, thorax otherwise black; front and middle legs, including coxae, in large part yellow, femora more or less testaceous posteriorly, and tibiae with a testaceous infusion posteriorly; hind coxae yellow, the trochanters and femora more or less testaceous or yellowish anteriorly, piceous posteriorly, hind tibiae yellow in large part anteriorly, with a somewhat testaceous, median area, posterior surface in part piceous, basitarsi dark testaceous, the more apical segment somewhat lighter, spurs pale yellow; abdominal terga 1-6 with transverse yellow bands, these becoming quite narrow medially on 2-4, but quite broad at each side, that on basal tergum of more uniform width but somewhat constricted medially, submedian on all except 5 and 6 where they are more subapical; discs of abdominal sterna yellow in large part, the apical smooth impressed areas more testaceous or piceous, basal sternum with a median yellow blotch; head in large part coarsely rugoso-punctate, becoming rather finely so on cheeks below, supraclypeal area and clypeus very finely and quite closely and shallowly punctate, lateral areas below very sparsely punctate and shining; scutum and scutellum rather finely and densely rugose, mesopleura somewhat more coarsely so, propodeum rather finely rugose both laterally and posteriorly, triangle densely tessellate and dull, becoming irregularly and rather finely rugoso-striate along upper margin; discs of abdominal terga very finely, closely and quite regularly punctate, but basal tergum becoming impunctate laterally and basally, punctures of the more apical terga becoming somewhat coarser and more distinct; pubescence short but rather copious over head and thorax, pale yellow in large part, becoming more whitish on thorax below, very short and hardly evident on abdomen dorsally, sterna with more sparse but elongate yellowish hairs, sternum 6 becoming quite densely pubescent apically, the hairs erect, pale yellowish; median length of pygidial plate about equal to basal width, rather strongly narrowed apically, apex deeply incised, mar gins carinate, surface rather coarsely and closely punctate; exposed sternal plates unmodified, sternum 6 strongly narrowed to the narrowly rounded apex; sternum 8 with slender apical process; gonocoxites of genital armature as shown (fig. 105).
DISTRIBUTION—Minnesota to Massachusetts, south to Mississippi and Georgia, March to May.
FLOWER RECORDS—Claytonia. Robertson (1929) records this species (as luteoloides,) on Cercis, Erythronium, Nothoscordum, Prunus, Ribes, Salix, Stellaria and Zanthoxylum.
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