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Male .—Black with pale ochreous pubescence. Length about 10 mm. Face strongly and closely punctured, the between the eyes and the ocelli the punctures become much smaller and less crowded. Clypeus strongly punctured, black, mandibles dark reddish, except their black shining bases. Head clothed with long pubescence, pale ochreous, except that below the eyes, which is white. Antennae rufous one side and blackish on the other. the basal and two terminal joints fuscous. First joint of flagellum conspicuously longer than second and then the first joint of M. agilis. Thorax strongly punctured. thickly clothed with pale ochreous pubescence•, which becomes white on the sides and beneath. Abdomen rather dull, rather finely and sparsely punctured, pubescence as in agilis, but paler. Last segment with a purplish luster, its apex broadly truncate. The tooth at the penultimate segment is not so large as in agilis. Femora and tibiae black. tarsi reddish; tibiae and tarsi with long pale pubescence. Inner tooth of claw on middle foot decidedly shorter in proportion to outer than is the case in agilis. Wings hyaline with rather pale brown nervures. Third submarginal cell with its radial side conspicuously shorter than that pot of the third transverso-cubital nervure from the radial nervure to the bend, whereas in agilis these are about equal. This character in tristis seemed certainly of specific value, but on examining the second example of the new species the third submarginal was found to as in agilis.

Excerpt from: Melissodes pallidicicincta Cockerell (1896) Entomologist, p. 306

Appears in this excerpt as Melissodes pallidicicincta.

Female .-- Length about 13 mm. , antennae about 3.5 mm. Black with pale ochreous pubescence, whitish on lower parts of face, cheeks, and pleura. Head extremely broad, face broader than long, vertex shining, very sparsely punctured, face thickly pubescent, antennae dark. the long as second and third together, second a little shorter than third. Thorax with dense but rather short pubescence, scutellum with short black hairs. Mesothorax shining but strongly punctured. Tegulae piceous, hairy, with a nude shining spot. Wings greyish-hyaline, nervures piceous, third submarginal cell narrower at top than second. quite hairy, the hairs pale, almost silvery, scopa of hind legs rather thin, conspicuously plumose: Claw-joints becoming rufescent. First segment of abdomen with erect pale grey hairs; segments 2 to 4 will broad subapical bands of appressed white pubescence, very conspicuous, more or less notched medially behind. Bases of segments 2 to 4 intensely black, with short black hairs, extreme base of 2 covered with pale hairs. Fifth segment and apex clothed with dark fuscous hairs. Pygidium transversely striatulate. The nude apex of the first segment appears narrowly white or creamy, that of the other black, the apical margins are really transparent, and take the color of the hair beneath them. Hairs on inner side of first joint of hind tarsi black.

Excerpt from: Melissodes tristis melvina Cockerell, 1902 Entomologist 35, p. 177

Appears as Melissodes tristis melvina in this excerpt.

Male. Similar to M. tristis, but smaller (length about 8.5 mm.); eyes dark brown (pale greenish or greyish in tristis); antennae with the flagellum dark reddish beneath (bright ferruginous in tristis): nervures of wings mostly piceous (ferruginous in tristis); pygidal plate narrower; otherwise as in tristis. The clypeus, labrum, and mandibles are black, as in tristis. Hab. Cerro Chilcote, State of Chihuahua, Mexico, at mouth of canon on south side, March 22nd, 1902, at flowers of a species of Malvaceae, apparently one of the purple species of Sidalcea.

Extracted from: Melissdoes semitristis Cockerell, 1905 Psyche 12, p. 102

Appears as Melissodes semitristis in this excerpt,

Male. This is exactly what a hybrid between M. tristis and M. menuacha might be imagined to be like. It has precisely the stature, pubescence, etc. of M. menuacha, but the clypeus is wholly black (densely covered with white hair), the face is considerably broader, and the eyes are reddish grey. The mandibles and labrum are black; there is no black hair on the disk of the nervures piceous or very dark brown; the width of the face agrees with tristis. Tegulae black, as in trisitis. The insect is to tristis much as menaucha is to agilis.

Hab.—Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona, 6000 ft., July.

• Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist, Ascher and Pickering.
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System