Melitta melittoides (Viereck, 1909)
Dolichochile melittoides Viereck, 1909
Life   Insecta   Hymenoptera   Apoidea   Melittidae   Melitta
Subgenus: Cilissa



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Melitta melittoides, female, back
© Copyright source/photographer · 9
Melitta melittoides, female, back

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Melitta melittoides, m, back, Anne Arundel, MD
© Copyright source/photographer · 7
Melitta melittoides, m, back, Anne Arundel, MD
Melitta melittoides, m, face, Anne Arundel, MD
© Copyright source/photographer · 7
Melitta melittoides, m, face, Anne Arundel, MD
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --

Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, f on Lyonia --
Melitta melittoides, m on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, m on Lyonia --
Melitta melittoides, m on Lyonia --
Michael Veit · 6
Melitta melittoides, m on Lyonia --

Melitta melittoides, m, back, Anne Arundel Co, MD
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Melitta melittoides, m, back, Anne Arundel Co, MD
Melitta melittoides, m, face, Anne Arundel Co, MD
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Melitta melittoides, m, face, Anne Arundel Co, MD
Melitta melittoides, m, side, Anne Arundel Co, MD
© Copyright source/photographer · 5
Melitta melittoides, m, side, Anne Arundel Co, MD
Melitta melittoides, male, S6
Joan Milam · 5
Melitta melittoides, male, S6

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Overview
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 11 mm.; face slightly longer than distance between eyes; eyes nearly parallel; malar space fully as long as width of base of mandibles; antennae brownish-piceous beneath, mid segments about as long as broad, basal segment of flagellum very slightly longer than 2nd; lateral ocelli slightly nearer margin of vertex than to eyes; cheeks about equal to eyes in width; clypeus rather evenly convex, very sparsely punctate in center of disc and apically, but with a few scattered, shallow punctures laterally and above; mandibles elongate, the tip of one fully reaching base of the other, with a low, submedian tooth; pubescence of head rather thin, pale ochraceous to whitish, that on thorax pale ochraceous laterally and beneath, as well as over most of propodeum, but dorsum largely fuscous; scutum somewhat shining, punctures rather shallow but quite close anteriorly, becoming sparse in center of disc posteriorly, scutellum very sparsely punctate anteriorly, becoming rather closely and shallowly punctate along the narrow posterior margin; pleura somewhat shining, punctures rather coarse but very shallow, rather close; lateral faces of propodeum somewhat shining, very finely and irregularly punctate, posterior face more tessellate and with fine, more uniformly distributed punctures, dorsal triangle very finely granular; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma testaceous; tegulae brownish-piceous; legs piceous to black, pubescence entirely pale, tibial scopa composed of short, rather thin, largely simple hairs; spurs pale yellow; abdominal terga somewhat shining, punctures very fine on basal segment, well separated medially, becoming somewhat closer laterally, punctures on following segments minute, rather evenly distributed but quite close; apical margins of terga 2-4 with subentire, rather dense, white fasciae, rims becoming more or less hyaline beneath; discal pubescence of segments 1 and 2 entirely pale, that on 2 very short, that on 3-5 fuscous, longer on the more apical segments, 5 with a rather dense, plumose, apical fimbria; pygidial plate quite distinct, fringed with dense, fuscous pubescence.

MALE�Length 9 mm.; face somewhat longer than distance between eyes; eyes nearly parallel; malar space fully half as long as width of mandibles at base; antennae piceous, elongate, median segments fully twice as long as broad, basal segment of flagellum hardly half this length, more blackish; lateral ocelli slightly nearer to margin of vertex than to eyes; cheeks about equal to eyes in width; clypeus densely long pubescent, surface beneath finely punctate along upper margin becoming impunctate toward apical margin mandibles reaching slightly beyond mid line of face. bidentate apically; pubescence of head whitish, long and dense on face, clypeus lower portion of cheeks rather that on thorax pale ochraceous to whitish in large part, but with intermixed fuscous hairs on dorsum of thorax; scutum somewhat shining, punctures very fine, rather irregular, quite close anteriorly and laterally, becoming rather sparse in center posteriorly, those on scutellum very sparse anteriorly, but becoming somewhat more coarse but shallow toward posterior margin; pleura somewhat shining, with shallow, rather coarse and close punctures; lateral faces of propodeum somewhat shining, irregularly punctate, more closely so posteriorly, posterior face tessellate, punctures rather close but indistinct, dorsal triangle very densely granular or tessellate; wings subhyaline, veins and stigma testaceous; tegulae brownish-hyaline; legs blackish basally, the more apical tarsal segments brownish-testaceous, pubescence entirely pale ochraceous; spurs pale yellow; abdominal terga somewhat shining, punctures fine, rather well separated but not sparse on basal tergum medially, becoming somewhat closer laterally, those on the following segments becoming successively more minute, close and indistinct; apical margins of terga 2-4 with subentire, thin, white fasciae, rims beneath narrowly testaceous; discal pubescence entirely pale on segments 1 and 2, that on 3 becoming blackish laterally, 4-5 with rather elongate, blackish, erect pubescence; gonostyli of genital armature not angulate laterally, but tip with a slender ventral projection resulting in a bidentate condition.

DISTRIBUTION�Connecticut to Georgia and Tennessee; May to September. There is one September record in Virginia.

FLOWER RECORDS�Polycodium, Xolisma and Zenobia.

This is the first description of the male of this species.

Identification
Dolichochile melittoides Cockerell Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8)8, p. 672


I examined the female type in the U.S. National Muscurn. Sides of face shining, without fovea; mandibles extremely long, with a pair of little notches near the middle, the interval between them forming a small tooth; venation as in Melitta, with the characteristic third t.-c and pointed marginal cell; area of metathorax granular, not defined; optical plate of abdomen pointed, strongly keeled. Melilta americana has tie keeled apical plate, but different metathorax and mandibles. In the Asiatic M. altissima the apical plate is not in the least keeled. Dolichochile is a valid genus, close to Melitta.

Names
Scientific source:
Hosts · map
FamilyScientific name @ source (records)
Ericaceae  Lyonia ligustrina @ AMNH_BEE (1); UCMS_ENT (26)

Lyonia @ AMNH_BEE (1); UCMS_ENT (13)

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