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Melissodes apicatus Lovell and Cockerell, 1906 Melissodes apicata Lovell and Cockerell, 1906; Melissodes (Apomelissodes) apicata Lovell and Cockerell, 1906
Life
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Apoidea
Apidae
Melissodes
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Reprinted with permission from: Mitchell, T.B. 1962 Bees of the Eastern United States. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 152.
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MALE Length 9.5-12 mm., breadth of abdomen 3.5-5 mm.; black, including labrum and mandibles, clypeus yellow, with apical margin narrowly black and upper and lateral margins more or less invaded with black; antennal flagellum brownish-testaceous toward the base, becoming more piceous apically, and piceous above; apical tarsal segments somewhat more brownish, spurs pale testaceous; tegulae piceous to black; wings lightly infuscated, veins brownish to piceous; apical rims of abdominal terga very narrowly yellowish-hyaline; cheeks nearly equal to eyes in width, the clypeus slightly protuberant, its median length somewhat greater than half the distance between eyes below; eyes slightly convergent below; shorter side of basal segment of flagellum only slightly longer than pedicel, segment 2 about five times this length; punctures of clypeus close and rather coarse, somewhat more vague maculated area, finer and closer on labrum medially, becoming somewhat separated laterally; punctures of face quite coarse and close, becoming very fine and well separated above, between eyes and ocelli, where surface is shining, close and rather fine on vertex medially becoming somewhat coarser and more distinctly separated laterally, quite coarse, distinct and well separated on cheeks, becoming fine and close along margin of eye; scutum and scutellum shining, punctures deep, distinct and quite coarse, well separated medially on scutum, becoming somewhat finer and closer laterally and anteriorly, somewhat finer on scutellum, but evenly distributed and slightly separated; mesopleura rather dull, punctures quite coarse but shallow and close; posterior face of propodeum with rather coarse, shallow, scattered punctures, surface somewhat shining, dorsal area narrowly impunctate along mid-line, becoming shallowly rugose or reticulate laterally, lateral faces more finely and closely punctate, the punctures becoming obsolescent below and anteriorly; basal abdominal tergum largely covered with deep, distinct, rather fine, well separated punctures medially, these becoming closer laterally, fine and well separated toward apical rim; discs of terga 2-5 with very fine, rather deep and distinct, slightly separated punctures, these becoming somewhat more minute beneath the dense fasciae; tergum 5 not angulate laterally; tergum with a distinct, triangular, apical spine at each extreme side; pubescence of head largely pale ochraceous, but with a quite dense fringe black hairs across vertex; scutum and scutellum largely fuscous pubescent, anterior third of scutum with pale ochraceous pubescence which extends narrowly along lateral margins to the propodeum, thorax and legs otherwise pale ochraceous pubescent; basal abdominal tergum with copious, elongate, pale ochraceous pubescence anteriorly, but with apical third more or less covered with shorter, suberect, black pubescence; terga 2-5 with rather broad, dense, completely apical, white fasciae, completely hiding apical margins, discs with copious but rather short, erect, black pubescence, some black hairs overlying the white fasciae apically, pubescence of tergum 6 entirely black; basal half of pygidial plate somewhat rounded and elevated, with subcarinate margins and a low median ridge that projects apically, the apical part somewhat depressed, subtruncate, margin very slightly outcurved; sternum 7 as shown (fig. 83); sternum 8 similar to fimbriata but more broadly rounded apically; genital armature as in fimbriata.
DISTRIBUTION Maine to Florida, through the Atlantic coast states, March to July.
FLOWER RECORDS Females visit Pontederia, but males have been collected also on Hydrocotyle, Melilotis and Stachys.
Identification |
Extracted from: LaBerge, W. E. 1963. New Species and Records of Little-known Species of Melissodes from North America (Hymenoptera: Anthophriadae). Bulletin of The University of Nebraska State Muesem, Vol. 4. Pp 227-242.
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This poorly known species has been collected several times since
the publication of its redescription by LaBerge (1956, p. 551).
Melissodes apicata has been presumed to be an oligolege of plants of
the genus Pontederia. The new material available to the author
upholds this assumption, although a few females and several males
have been collected from a number of other plants. Most female
specimens and many of the males of these collections were taken
from Pontedel'ia flowers. Other plants, such as Melilotus alba and
Stachys floridana, probably serve as sources of nectar. This is indicated
by the fact that most specimens collected on the flowers of
these plants are males. New locality records are listed below:
FLORIDA: Alachua County: I !i?, April 17, 1956, on Cirsillm
sp., R. A. Morse; 5 ~ ~, April 17, 1956, on Melilotus alba, R. A.
Morse; 5 ~ ~, April 17, 1956, on Oenothera speciosa, R. A. lVlorse;
22 ~ ~ , April 17, 1956, on Stachys /lm'idana, R. A. l\1orse; I ~, April
2, 1956, R. A. lVlorse; I !i?, l\IIay 3, 1956, on Cirsium sp., H. V. '\I\'eems,
Jr.; I !i?, I ~, May 7, 1956, on Melilotus alba, R. A. Morse. Gainesville:
3 ~ ~, lVlay 10, 1919, P. '\1\'. Fattig. Georgetown, Putnam Co.:
1 !i?, April 30, 1955, H. E. and M. A. Evans. Highlands Hammock
State Park: 3 !i?!i?, 14 ~ ~, l\-Iarch 30, 1956, on Pontederia sp., H. V.
Weems, Jr. Marion County: 6 !i? !i?, l\-Iay 10, 1956, on Pontederia sp.,
R. A. lVlorse. Oneco, Manatee Co.: I ~, l\IIarch 26, 1954, W. W.
Boyle. lVIASSACHUSETTS: ''''altham: I ~, July 1, 1957, on Melilotus alba, R. A. l\tlorse; 2 ~ ~,July 2, 1957, on Melilotus alba, R. A.
Morse. Worcester: 1 ~, July 5-7, 1929, F. G. Wallace. NEW HAMPSHIRE:
l\tIeredith: 1 ~, July 5, 1959, on Trifoliumhyb1'idum, R. A.
Morse. NE',y YORK: Brookhaven, Long Island: 2 ~ ~, June 27,
1936, Chamberlain. The specimens are in the collections of Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York, the New York State Museum, Albany,
the Florida State Plant Board, Gainesville, North Carolina State
College, Raleigh, and the University of Nebraska State l\tIuseum,
Lincoln.
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