Christopher Wilson · 6 Melissodes personatellus, Dorsal

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Identification Extracted from: Melissodes personatella, Cockerell, 1901 Can. Ent. 33, p. 298

Appears as Melissodes personatella in this excerpt.

Male. Length 10 mm.; black; head much broader than long, facial quadrangle somewhat narrowed below; face entire black, covered, as also the cheeks, with long white hair; mandibles black, with a ferruginous subapical spot; vertex on each side of the ocelli concave, smooth and shining, with minute, hardly noticeable punctures; antenna try long, reaching to apex of second abdominal segment; scape short and stout, black ; flagellum ferruginous beneath, second joint considerably longer than third; mesothorax shining and sparsely punctured, thinly clothed, as also the scutellum, with long black hair; hair on prothorax, pleura, post scutellum and metathorax long and white; tegulae: very dark brown ; wings rather short, slightly dusky, more hairy than usual, nervures piceous; first recurrent nervure received by second submarginal cell not far from its end; third submarginal narrowed Little more than half to marginal; legs black with white hair, small joints at tarsi becoming ferruginous; abdomen with short black hair, except on the first segment and extreme base of second (where it is white), at the apex (where it is pale), and clear white band of hair near the apical margins of segments two to five; the first segment has some black hair dorsally near its apical margin; apical plate truncate, not notched at the sides. Hab.--Jolla, Sun Diego co., Calif., August 1901. A very distinct species, by its black face, black hair on mesothorax, and long antenna. For some account of other species with black faces in the 5 male, see Entom., Oct. p. 304.

Names Scientific source:

• Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist, Ascher and Pickering.