Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.
FEMALE—Lepgth 8-14 mm., breadth of abdomen 3-4.5 mm.; black, mandibles somewhat paler apically, apical tarsal segments becoming brownish, spurs piceous; tegulae testaceous-hyaline; wings subhyaline, with brown blotches, apex just beyond the outermost cells abruptly and deeply infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; cheeks much narrower than eyes; clypeus strongly protuberant, its median length somewhat less than half the distance between eyes below; eyes very slightly convergent below; mandibles slender apically, inner margin with a pair of distinct, inner teeth toward base; median length of labrum about equal to the breadth, apical margin subtruncate; basal segment of flagellum slightly longer than segment 2, median segments about as long as broad; scutum slightly sulcate medially, sparsely punctate and shining near mid-line anteriorly, somewhat depressed in region of notaulices; scutellum quite deeply grooved and lobate, each lobe acute apically; lateral faces of propodeuni with a rugose ridge posterior to spiracle, this strongly carinate above and united with anterior lip of spiracle; face, clypeus and cheeks closely and rather finely punctate in general, punctures somewhat coarser and more distinct below ocelli and on vertex laterally; thoracic punctures somewhat coarser, deeper and more distinctly separated, somewhat finer and closer on scutum between notaulices and tegulae, quite coarse and nearly contiguous over most of pleura, the propodeum laterally more reticulate; abdominal terga rather smooth, punctures exceedingly minute, close and obscure beneath dense tomentum; pygidiurn narrow and elongate, shining, with a low median ridge, margins carinate, apex narrowly rounded; pubescence of head quite copious but rather short, very short and dense over clypeus, hiding the surface, more elongate and erect above antennae, greyish-white in large part, with some intermixture of brownish hairs on upper part of face and on vertex, somewhat darkened on cheeks posteriorly; apterior third of scutum with a pair of subquadrate patches of short, fuscous pubescence that are narrowly fringed posteriorly with pale hairs and separated by a median band of ochraceous pubescence; latero-antenor angle of scutum, pleura above, and propodeum in large part, with quite copious, dense and erect, whitish pubescence; posterior two-thirds of scutum with very short and thin blackish pubescence that is quite obscure, axillae densely covered with short fuscous or blackish pubescence, and scutellum with erect, fuscous hairs and fringed posteriorly with fine, whitish pubescence; abdominal terga 1 and 2 with conspicuous, transverse, apical bands of whitish tomentum that are rather widely separated medially, slightly narrowed laterally, quite abruptly broadened at sides to occupy the entire lateral margins; terga and 4 with a pair of submedian rounded Spots of whitish tomentum that are more or less separated from similar lateral tomentose areas, resulting in four more or less distinct spots; tergum 5 with a very narrow sub- median pale fascia that is slightly interrupted medially; discs of terga otherwise quite densely covered with very fine, appressed, black tomentum, contrasting sharply with the yellow-tomentose maculations; pleura fuscous pubescent below; legs basally with very short, largely whitish pubescence, tibiae with pale pubescence on outer face but with basal and apical areas of very short, dark pubescence, resulting in a spotted appearance; basitarsi with pale pubescence on outer face, inner surfaces densely covered with brownish hairs.
MALE—Length 9-18 mm., breadth of abdomen 3-4 mm.; black, mandibles faintly testaceous apically, tarsal segments becoming brownish apically, spurs piceous to black; tegulae testaceous-hyaline; wings subhyaline, with brownish infusions apically, apex beyond the cells abruptly and deeply infuscated. veins brownish to piceous; cheeks somewhat narrower than eyes; clypeus strongly protuberant, its median length slightly less than half the distance between eyes below; eyes rather strongly convergent below; mandibles slender apically, with a pair of well developed, inner, submedian teeth; basal segment of flagellum considerably longer than segment 2, median segments slightly broader than long; median length of labrum somewhat greater than breadth, apical margin subtruncate, sides parallel; scutum shallowly sulcate medially and somewhat depressed in region of notaulices; scutellum rather deeply impressed medially, bilobate, apex of each lobe subacute; lateral faces of propodeum with a rugose ridge posterior to spiracle, this strongly can- nate above and united with anterior lip of spiracle; punctures of cheeks, lower part of face and clypeus quite close and rather fine, becoming somewhat coarser and more distinctly separated above antennae and across vertex; thoracic punctures relatively coarse and deep, well separated over most of scutum and scutellum, becoming fine and close along notaulices, close to crowded on pleura, close and somewhat finer on propodeum; abdominal terga relatively smooth, punctures microscopic and rather close and uniform beneath dense tomentum, the narrow apical margins relatively smooth, especially on the more apical terga; pubescence of face and cheeks quite copious, greyish-white in general, some dark hairs intermixed at sides of face below antennae, around ocelli, and on cheeks posteriorly; anterior third of scutum with a pair of small angulate spots of fuscous pubescence on each side of median sulcus, separated by an equally wide area of pale pubescence that reaches the latero-apical angles; pleura above and propodeum with rather elongate, greyishwhite pubescence; posterior two-thirds of scuturn with rather short but erect blackish pubescence, axillae densely covered with short, black pubescence, and scutellum with scattered, elongate dark hairs in the generally light pubescence; pubescence of pleura below fuscous, more or less intermixed with a few pale hairs, legs largely pale pubescent, outer surface of front tibiae with a median, transverse band of short fuscous pubescence, mid tibiae densely covered with short, cream-colored tomentum through most of its length, and hind tibiae thinly covered with whitish pubescence; tarsi largely covered with thin, whitish pubescence on outer surface, inner surface with dense brownish pubescence; abdominal terga 1-5 with broad and conspicuous, apical or subapical bands of dense, whitish tomentum, these slightly separated medially, more or less constricted toward the broadened outer ends which more or less completely cover the lateral margins, those on 3-5 more or less widely removed from apical margin and subinterrupted laterally; tergum 6 with a pair of small, rather widely separated and indefinite spots of pale tomentum; pygidial plate of tergum 7 represented by a pair of angles, separated by a triangular, median, emarginate area; sterna 7 and 8 and genital armature as shown (fig. 119).
DISTRIBUTION—Mexico to British Columbia, east to Illinois. It is probably in flight through the summer months.
HOST—Anthophora abrupta. Other species of Anthophora, have been recorded as hosts in the West.
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