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Extracted from: Timberlake P.H., (1958). A Revisional Study of The Bees of the Genus Perdita F. Smith, with Special Reference to the Fauna of the Pacific Coast (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) Part III. University of Caifornia Press Berkeley and Los Angeles 1958, Volume 14, No. 5, pp. 303-410, plates 4-15.
This common but interesting species is similar to Covtlleae, but is much more closely and strongly punctured and about twice as large. It is a frequent visitor of Prosopis as well as Larrea in the deserts of California.
Male.—Dark yellowish green, becoming more bluish on propodeum. Quadrate mark at anterior end of cheeks with orbital extension nearly to middle of eyes, mandibles except red tips, labrum, and entire face below level of antennae bright yellow; lateral marks extending well above antennae and more or less oblique from the foveae to outer margin of antennal sockets. Pronotum yellow, with a green crossband, which is often narrowed to a fine line on the flanks and bent backward at outer ends toward the tubercles. Abdomen bright yellow, with base of tergite 1 and a band at junction of tergites 1-2 to 5-6 brownish or fuscous; yellow band on tergite 1 generally narrow and interrupted, but sometimes moderately broad and entire; yellow band on tergite 2 rarely enclosed; basal part of dark bands produced backward at outer ends on tergites 2 and 3, and apical part of bands with broad sublateral bulges on each side especially on tergites 3 and 4; dark band at junction of tergites 5-6 often faint, evanescent, or reduced to a subapical spot on each side of tergite 5. Legs yellow, the outer side of hind tibiae and basi-tarsi and tfoe small joints of hind tarsi brownish or pale fuscous. Antennae yellow, more brownish yellow beneath, the upper side of pedicel and flagellum brownish fuscous. Tegulae hyaline, the base yellow. Wings clear iridescent hyaline, the nervures pale yellowish, the subcosta and margins of stigma pale brownish.
Head generally distinctly longer than wide, with clypeus strongly projecting beyond anterior end of eyes. Face below antennae strongly convex, the disk of clypeus usually nearly as high as wide and the lateral extensions hidden in frontal view. Mandibles slender, tapering, and reaching far margin of proboscidial fossa. Facial foveae subpunctiform, a little longer than wide. Frons smoothly tessellate, moderately shining, and with fine, close, rather obscure punctures. Mesonotum polished, with fine close punctures for this group of Perdita. Pubescence white, short, erect and somewhat mosslike on mesonotum, and longer on the cheeks and underside of thorax. Parameral lobes of caulis long and narrow for this group and appearing narrow in lateral view (very broad in oovilleae in this aspect); fused body of sagittae rather long and fusiform and about equally thick in dorsal and lateral views. Subgenital plate about four times longer than wide at the middle and expanded at apex into two short diverging lobes. Length, 4-6 mm.; anterior wing, 3.1-4 mm.
Female.—Head and thorax shiny yellowish green. Mandibles except red tips, labrum, clypeus, lateral, supraclypeal and subantennal marks bright yellow; clypeus with usual pair of dark dots and often two brown arcuate stripes on disk; lateral marks narrowed above to intrude between foveae and eyes; subantennal marks margined more or less but usually narrowly with black, or rarely reduced to dots and the supraclypeal mark divided. Pronotum yellow, with a dark mark somewhat tinged with green on lower part of flanks. Abdomen yellow, with five fuscous bands, including one at base of tergite 1; yellow band on tergite 1 moderately narrow and interrupted medially and those on following segments as broad as, or broader than the dark intervals, with that on tergite 2 much narrowed at outer ends. Legs yellow, with the front coxae fuscous, the hind tarsi pale fuscous, and outer margin of hind tibiae more or less tinged with fuscous. Scape of antennae bright yellow except a spot above at apex; remainder of antennae fuscous above and broadly brownish yellow beneath. Tegulae and wings as in male, but nervures all pale except subcosta slightly brownish.
Head about as broad as long except for the strongly projecting clypeus. Mandibles slender, tapering, and reaching a little beyond far margin of proboscidial fossa. Facial foveae well impressed, moderately wide, and extending from level of middle of antennal sockets about four fifths of distance to level of anterior ocellus. Galeae a little shorter than the stipites and firmly opposed to each other to form a common acute apex. Parts of marginal cell beneath and beyond stigma about equal. Pygidial plate as broad as long, with the sides converging in a slight curve to the moderately narrow and notched apex. Frons tessellate, moderately dullish, with fine close punctures nearly evenly distributed over most of space between antennal Bockets and ocelli. Mesonotum polished, with fine close punctures. Pubescence white, moderately long, and dense, becoming shorter, subdepressed, and mosslike on mesonotum. Length, 5-7 mm.; anterior wing, 3.9-4.1 mm.
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