Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1960 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 141.
FEMALE—Length 5 mm.; black; face much longer than distance between eyes above; eyes slightly convergent below; cheeks slightly narrower than eyes; process of labrum somewhat broader than the median length, the sides parallel, apical margin very slightly outcurved; facial foveae shallow but quite distinct, nearly as long as scape; space between margin of vertex and lateral ocelli about equal to their diameter; median segments of flagellum about as broad as long, basal segment considerably longer; punctures of vertex and of face below ocelli very fine, uniform and close, almost crowded, becoming more distinctly separated below antennae, those on clypeus somewhat coarser and more sparse, those on cheeks below becoming rather shallow and indefinite, but still close; pubescence of head and thorax extremely short and inconspicuous, barely evident, apparently entirely pale; tubercles testaceous; tegulae yellowish-hyaline; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma pale brownish-testaceous, 2nd recurrent vein nearly interstitial with 2nd transverse cubitus, the 1st considerably removed from base of cell; legs dull brownish-testaceous basally, becoming somewhat more yellowish apically, pubescence entirely pale, hind tibial scopa of rather loose, simple hairs; spurs pale yellow; dorsum of thorax with very fine and close, uniformly distributed punctures; pleura dull, tessellate, punctures hardly evident except for scattered, very shallow punctures anteriorly; dorsal area of propodeum quite narrow, with a few irregular rugosities along base, lateral and posterior faces quite smooth but dull; apical margins of abdominal terga quite broadly impressed, these areas finely pebbled, dull yellowish-hyaline, discs of terga very finely, closely and uniformly punctate to the rim of the depressed area, discal pubescence hardly evident, apparently entirely pale.
MALE—Length 6 mm.; black; length of face considerably greater than distance between eyes above; eyes slightly convergent below; clypeus, except apical margins laterally, mandibles, and triangular lateral face marks yellow, the labrum black, lateral maculae terminating on eye margin slightly above upper margin of clypeus; cheeks slightly narrower than eyes; process of labrum quadrangular, considerably broader than long, apical margin truncate; facial foveae quite deep and distinct, terminating considerably above level of antennae; space between margin of vertex and lateral ocelli slightly less than distance between these ocelli; median segments of flagellum about as broad as long; punctures of head rather fine, but deep and distinct, close above antennae, somewhat more distinctly separated below antennae where surface is shining, vertex laterally and cheeks subrugose; pubescence of head and thorax extremely short, thin and obscure, entirely pale, visible only at certain angles on dorsum of thorax, but hind margin of pronotum and tubercles with a quite dense fringe of short, scale-like tomentum; tubercles ferruginous; tegulae ferruginous-hyaline; wings subhyaline, strongly violaceous, veins testaceous, stigma somewhat more brownish, second recurrent vein entering second submarginal cell much nearer apex than first does to base; tarsi and spurs yellow; femora dark with yellow tips, front tibiae reddish-yellow anteriorly, dark posteriorly, the mid and hind tibiae largely dark, narrowly yellow at base and apex; puncturation of dorsum of thorax fine, close and deep, but distinct, that of scutellum slightly coarser than on scutum, pleura posteriorly more tessellate, with only a few scattered obscure punctures, becoming rather coarsely and shallowly punctate anteriorly and below; apical margins of abdominal terga rather narrowly and evenly depressed, these areas very minute ly and closely punctate, somewhat reddened, discs very closely and finely punctate, punctures becoming slightly more distinct toward depressed margins; abdominal pubescence extremely short, thin and obscure, entirely pale, sternum 6 with a deep, triangular, median emargination; wings of sternum 7 rather narrow, the tips somewhat reflexed, subacute, bearing a small tuft of short setae; apical process of sternum 8 elongate, narrow, somewhat constricted just before the apex which is rather broadly truncate and bears a dense fringe of very short setae; gonostyli rather elongate, slightly expanded toward apex, tips obliquely flexed toward median line where they nearly meet, with a quite dense fringe of setae toward the tips beneath; penis valves very slender, simple, not quite attaining tips of gonostyli.
DISTRIBUTION—Missouri, Illinois and North Carolina; June to September.
FLOWER RECORDS—The type series of P. gerardiae was collected on Gerardia tenuifolia. Robertson (1922 and 1929) records parvus on Aster, Eulophus, Geranium, Gillenia, Monarda, Solidago and Thaspium. Some of Robertson’s records, however, may refer to P. pauper Cresson.
The evidence indicates that Robertson failed to distinguish between two closely related species, the one he described as parvus and that described by Cresson as pauper. Crawford based his determinations on specimens identified by Robertson, but apparently did not see the type series of parvus. The writer has seen the lectotype of parvus and found it to agree with gerardiae rather than with pauper.
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