Cambridge Entomological Club, 1874
PSYCHE

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Psyche 15:32-40, 1908.

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angle which is still more marked and almost dentiform, when viewed laterally, This is most distinct in the females of bipustulatus." I have none of the former species, but my few females of the latter show very clearly the above characters as he describes them. In connection with this subject, attention is called to an error in the Rhyncho- phoridae of America North of Mexico, LeConte and Horn, p. 10; under Attelabus analis the sex marks should be reversed in the description of the sexual characters. Also in the Family characters on the same page the statement "armed at the tip with two strong hooks" is misleading and should be qualified, because this, as it now reads, applies only to the females and not to the males which have only one hook. This lat- ter statement appears also in the "Classification" and should be restricted likewise, THE HALICTIDAE OF SOUTHERN MAINE.
BY JOHN H. LOVELL, WALDOBORO, MAINE.
WHILE comparatively few new species of bees have been found in southern Maine, the described species very frequently differ in a greater or less degree from southern and western material. This is especially true of the species of Halictus, which present variations in the descriptive characters in consequence of which it is difficult in many instances to determine whether they are of varietal or specific impor- tance. H. provancheri D. T. exhibits only slight differences, but the female of H. lerouxii Lep. is narrower than the Illinois representative of this species, and has the pubescence of the thorax above ochreous instead of grayish-white. H. craterus is a new species allied to H. similis and H. discus. H. arcuatus var. parisus, especially the male, differs so widely from typical material that it might well be regarded as a new species. The local specimens of H. foxii closely resemble the Illinois form and at most constitute only a race; while H. divergens sustains a nearly similar relation to H. quadrimaculatus. Maine specimens of H. pilosus are usually smaller than those from Indiana; while H. pilosus var. leucocomus occupies an intermediate position between this species and H. pruinosus, and is usually mistaken for the latter species. H. hortensis is near to H. sparsus, but it may be separated from specimens of the latter species received from Pennsylvania by its larger size, and in the female by the broader and lighter-colored abdomen, and in the male by the more coarsely striated Pa&* 15:32-40 ( 1908). hup Ilpsychc rinclub orgtW15-012 html



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19081 LOVELL - HALICTIDAE OF SOUTHERN MAINE 33 0
disc of the metathorax. Opportunity for more extensive comparison would doubt- less reveal numerous differences in other species. Only the females of Halictus fly in spring, while theemales are found in midsum- mer and autumn.
In the flower records given in this paper an endeavor has been made to give the earliest and latest dates upon which each sex has been captured. The females have been taken from April 30th to Sept. 6th; during the early part of the season they are common on the flowers of the willows, plums and blackberries and later on Rosa humilis, Aralia hispida, Rhus typhina and other plants. The males have been collected from July 19th to Sept. 12th (garden marigold), but chiefly during the month of August. There is no better collecting ground for this sex than the various species of golden-rod, and on a single inflorescence on Sept. 8th I collected nearly a dozen specimens. The males, however, of H. arcuatus var. parisus have been taken almost exclusively on the flowers of the thoroughwort, or Eupatorium perfoliatum, one only having been found on Solidago. Late in the season numerous specimens of Halictus may be taken on the fall dandelion, or Leontodon autumnalis; thus I find in my notes a record that twenty-four specimens, mostly of species of Halictus, were collected on this plant on Sept. 6th. The females of H. lerouxii and H. craterus are very common, and the males are nearly equally abundant, in which respect they differ from the males of all other species of Halictus found in this locality. All of the species appear to be polytropic except H. nelumbonis, which at Waldoboro has been observed only on Nuphar advena. In some instances where only one or two flower-records have been given this is due to the rarity of the species or to an insufficient number of observations. The collecting season in this locality closes for all genera except Apis and Bombus by the middle of September. Specimens of many of the species enumerated in this paper have been kindly examined by Prof. T. D. A. Cockerel1 who has compared them with authentic mate- rial, and furnished valuable notes and suggestions. (Halictus sens. str.)
Halictus provancheri D. T.
1882 Halictus constrictus Prov. (not Sm.), 8, Nat. Can. 13: 202. 1888 Halictus constrictus Prov. 9 8, Add. faun. Can. Hym. p. 316. 1895 Halictus fasciatus Robt. (not Nyl.), Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 22: 117. 1896 Halictus provancheri D. T. Cat. Hym. 10: 77.



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6^ YSY<JHE [April
a
H. fasciatus Nyl. is a European species and probably does not occur in America. According to Mr. J. C. Crawford "H. fasciatus" Robt. is the species described by Provancher as H. constrictus. This is also doubtless the bee recently described by Vachal as H. nearcticus.
The female has been taken on Salix Bebbiana, May 13; Ogon plum (to which it is a common visitor), May 29; Eupatorium perfoliatum, Aug. 24; and Leontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6; the male on Aralia hispida, July 27-30; and Solidago, Aug. 17. A common and widely distributed species, easily recognized by the dull greenish color, and the length of the third submarginal cell equalling twice that of the second submarginal.
Halictus lerouxii Lep.
1841 Halictus lerouxii Lep. Q, Hist. nat. Insect. Hym. 2: 272. 1898 Halictus lerouxii Robt. 3, Trans. Ac. Sci. St. Louis, 8: 44. The female specimens were collected on Salix discolor, Apr. 30; S. Bebbiana, May 13; garden plum, May 28; Carduus arvensis, Aug. 7; Leontodon autumnalis, Aug. 8; and many other plants; the male on Aralia hispida, July 19; and Solidago juncea, Aug. 4-11.
A very common species.
The females may often be seen on the
flowers of Lonicera Tatarica, collecting pollen, for their proboscides are not long enough to reach the nectar, which is eagerly sought by bumblebees. This is our largest species of Halictus, the females more closely resemble in the color of the pubescence the forms from Colorado and Washington than those of Illinois. H.
parallelus Say and H. armaticeps Cr. do not occur here. Halictus coriaceus Sm.
1853 Halictus coriaceus Sin. 9 , Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus. 1 : 70. 1853 Halictus subquadratus Sm. 3, Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus. 1 : 72. This species is much less common than H. lerouxii; in most specimens of the female there are white basal fasciae on abdominal segments 2-3, but not infrequently segment 4 is also fascia,te. Female taken on flowers of Salix Bebbiana, May 12; garden blackberry, June 19; Carduus arvensis, Aug. 7; male on Carduus arvensis, Aug. 7; and garden marigold, Sept. 12.




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(Evylaeus) .
Halictus craterus n. sp.
1905 Halictus siinilis Lovell, 9 3, Can. Ent. 37 : 299. $ .-Length 9-10 mm.; a broad, robust bee, entirely black, front and meso- thorax subopaque, abdomen shining.
Face much longer than broad, the sides nearly parallel; clothed with thin, pale yellowish pubescence; with close, shallow, often indistinct, punctures; clypeus produced, coarsely and sparsely punctured, with an apical fringe of reddish-yellow hair; ihe labrum is broad, with a central tubercle or prominence, the apex produced into a stout tooth fringed with stiff, fulvous hair; antennae black, the flagellum faintly brownish. Mesothorax closely but very dis- tinctly punctured, the punctures large; the dorsum and pleurae clothed with pale ochraceous hair; metathorax sharply truncate, the area not well-defined, shining, with coarse longitudinal ridges. Wings hyaline, reddened, nervures and stigma dark ferruginous, 3rd submarginal cell larger than the 2nd, but about equal on the marginal nervure; tegulae rufo-piceous or nearly black. Legs black, joints 1-4 of the posterior legs with bright orange fulvous hair on the inner side, the hind spur pale yellow, serrate, with about eight short teeth. Abdomen shining, strongly convex; segment 1 is distinctly but sparsely punctured, segments 2-3 are finely punctured all over; segments 2-3 with white basal fasciae often interrupted on 2, segment 3 is also rarely fasciate; apical fimbria reddish-brown. (^ .- Length 9 mm., narrower and more slender than the female. Face densely
clothed with nearly white or pale buff-colored hair; clypeus with a transverse pale ell ow mark; antennae long, joint 4 longer than 2 plus 3, black, the flagellum brown- ish. Pubescence of the mesothorax thinner and lighter colored than in the female, the punctuation similar. Abdominal segments 1-2, sometimes 3, with white basal fasciae interrupted in the middle; otherwise closely resembles the female. Female specimens taken on Salix Bebbiana, May 13; Iris versicolor, June 24 to July 5; Eupatorium perfoliatum, Aug. 24; Iieontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6; males on Aralia hispida, July 30; Carduus arvensis, Aug. 7; and Leontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6. A very common species easily separated from all other Maine bees belong- ing to this genus. It is closely related to H. discus Sm., but discus has the meso- thorax smooth and shining, with the punctures widely scattered; the pubescence of the legs is silvery tinged with yellow; and abdominal segments 2-4 are fasciate. H.
sirnilis Sm. was described from Hudson's Bay. It differs from H. craterus in the finely punctuated mesothorax, the sparsely pubescent pleurae, the pale testaceous



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nervures, the testaceous apical margins of the abdominal segments, and the light fulvous apical fimbria. From H. truncatus Robt . the Maine species may be separated by the 1st abdominal segment being punctured all over, and by the serrate hind spur. H. arcuatus Robt. var. parisus n. var.
According to Mr. J. C. Crawford the female differs from typical arcuatus in the weaker striae of the metathorax and the less distinct punctures on the 1st abdominal segment; the male in having the whitish mark on the clypeus shorter and less distinct, and the apical joints of the tarsi reddish,- in H. arcuatus they are all nearly white. Compared with specimens of both sexes of H. arcuatus received from Mr. Crawford, the males of the Maine variety are larger, with the apical margins of the abdominal segments black instead of pale testaceous, and the mandibles are also darker; the females are very similar to those of arcuatus, but the apical margins of the abdominal segments are less testaceous, and the fasciae are thinner. The female was taken almost exclusively on Rhus typhina, July 10; and the male on Eupatorium perfoliatum, Aug. 25. Descriptions of H. arcuatus Robt. will
be found in Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 20: 145, 1893, Q ; Can. Ent. 34: 247, 1902, Q 3. Halictus pectoralis Sm.
1853 Halictus pectoralis Sm. 9 , Cat. Hyn. Brit. Mus. 1 : 68. 1898 Halictus pectoralis Robt. 8, Trans. Ac. Sci. St. Louis, 8: 44. Female on Crataegus coccinea, June 14; garden blackberry, June 21 ; Solidago juncea, Aug. 8; Leontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6; male on Solidago, Aug. 9-25; Leontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6. Not common, the specimens are typical, this species has a great north and south distribution. Halictus foxii Robt.
1890 Halictus gracilis Robt. (not Mor.), ? d\ Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 316. 1895 Halictus foxii Robt., Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 22: 117. 1896 Halictus gracillimus D. T., Cat. Hym. 10: 63. The Maine bees referred to this species may constitute a distinct variety, but it is doubtful if the differentials prove reliable in a large series. The females differ from
typical H. foxii in their larger size, area of metathorax larger and with its margin better defined, stigma darker, abdomen blacker and nearly smooth, wings more dusky, tegulae darker. Female specimens taken on Salix Bebbiana, May 12; garden plum, May 28; Crataegus coccinea, June 14; Rubus strigosus, June 16; Epilobium, angus- tifolium, July 23; male on Aralia hispida, July 30, 1904. +
8 .- Length 5 mm. Clypeus produced, apex yellow, labrum black; mandibles



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yellowish-red in the middle, darker at base and apex; flagellum testaceous beneath, joint 4 longer than 2 plus 3; tegulae black, nervures and stigma dark brown; legs, black, tibiae entirely so, tarsi reddish-brown; area of metathorax rougher than in the female, with many parallel rugae extending to the posterior margin ; abdomen entirely black, apical margins of segments very slightly testaceous. Halictus quadrimaculatus Robt.
1890 Halictus quadrimaculatus Robt. (not Schenck), Q 8, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 316.
1895 Halictus macoupinensis Robt. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 22: 117. 1905 Halictus divergens Lovell, 9, Can. Ent. 37: 299. The female specimens were collected on the garden blackberry, June 24; Rosa humilis, July 4; and Aralia hispida, July 27. The Maine bees were at first thought
to differ from typical material in the longer head and darker wings, but more extended comparison shows that these characters are not constant. At most the local form is only of varietal importance.
Halictus nelumbonis Robt.
1890 Halictus nelumbonis Robt. 9 8, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 316.
Two females on Nymphaea (Nuphar) advena; an oligotropic visitor of the Nymphaeaceae.
(Chloralictus) .
Halictus pilosus Sm.
1853 Halictus pilosus Sm. 9 , Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus. 1 : 71. 1895 Halictus pilosus Robt. 8, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 22: 117. Female on Salix, May 7; S. Bebbiana, May 12; Epilobium angustifolium, July 20; male on Solidago, Aug. 21-22.
Rare in this locality. The Maine specimens are generally smaller than a large series received from Elkhart, Indiana, where it seems to be a common bee.
Halictus pilosus Sm. var. leucocomus n. var. 9 .- Length 6 mm. Closely allied to H. pilosus in its brassy green color, yel- lowish wings, punctuation of head and mesothorax, and in the longitudinal striae on the area of the metathorax. It differs from H. pilosus and is allied to H. pruinosus in the color of the pubescence, which is nearly white or only tinged with yellow. The



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size is smaller than that of pilosus, hardly half as large as specimens from Ind., and in some cases the tegument is much less brassy and more bluish as in pruinosus, for which species this variety at first is usually mistaken. It is, however, undoubtedly derived from H. pilosus.
Female taken on flowers of Prunus, May 28; Crataegus coccinea, June 14; and Solidago, Sept. 6.
Halictus viridatus Lovell.
1905 Halictus viridatus Lovell, 9 3, Can. Ent. 37: 300. The female is very common visiting a great variety of flowers; Salix Bebbiana, May 12; Aralia hispida, July 28; garden rhubarb, June 12; and Leontodon autum- nalis, Aug. 8.
The male has the apex of clypeus, labrum, mandibles and tarsi yellow, the tibiae are yellow at base and apex with an oblong black spot in the center; taken on Solidago, Aug. 20.
Halictus oblongus Lovell.
1905 Halictus oblongus Lovell, 9 8, Can. Ent. 37 : 40. 1905 Halictus planatus Lovell, 9, Can. Ent. 37: 300. Only a single specimen of 13. oblongus 9 has been taken, and while it differs from H. planatus in some minor characters, careful comparison shows that it cannot be separated from the latter species. Both sexes of the bee described as H. planatus are common, and the description of the female should be taken as that of typical material. Female on Salix Bebbiana, May 12; Aralia trifida, May 21; Rhus typhina, July 10; Aralia hispida, July 27; male on Solidago, Sept. 8. 8 .- The head and thorax are bluish-green as in the female, but the disc of the metathorax is more coarsely rugose. From H. viridatus it is separated by the entirely black clypeus, labrum, and the black mandibles rufous at tips. The tibiae are wholly black, the tarsi yellow with the apical joints pale brown, the stigma and nervures dark brown, and the antennae brown-black. Halictus versans Lovell.
1905 Halictus versans Lovell, Q , (not (^Y Can. Ent. 37: 39. Female taken on Epilobium angustifolium, July 23-30. It may be distinguished from H. oblongus by the much darker color of the head and thorax, and the numerous fine striae on the disc of the metathorax not extending to the posterior margin, which is slightly gibbous.
8 .- The male described with this species belongs to H. oblongus. I have,



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19081: LOVELL - HALICTIDAE OF SOUTHERN MAINE 39 however, a male taken on Epilobium angustifolium, July 23 (the same flower-record as the female), and which from its close resemblance is undoubtedly the male of this species.
Length a little over 5 mm.
Head and thorax very dark green appearing almost black; face thinly clothed with white hair; mandibles black, red at apices; flagellum brown-black, joint 4 = 2 4- 3. Metathorax with fine radiating raised lines at base of area, not extending to the posterior margin, gibbous at apex; tegulae black, stigma and nervures dark brown; legs and abdomen black. Halictus nymphaearum Robt.
1890 Halictus palustris Robt. (not Mor.), ? 8, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 317. 1895 Halictus nymphaearum Robt., Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 22 : 117. 1896 Halictus paludicola D. T., Cat. Hym. 10: 75. One female on Iris versicolor the latter part of June; two males on Sagittaria latifolia. Rare in this locality.
Halictus hortensis Lovell.
1905 Halictus hortensis Lovell, ? , Can. Ent. 37 : 39. Female taken on garden plum) May 28; Sedum acre, July 14; Leontodon autum- nalis, Sept. 6; male on Sedum acre, July 18; Solidago, Aug. 22; and Leontodon autumnalis, Aug. 17. A common species closely allied to H. sparsus, but sparsus is darker colored and smaller (specimens received from Lehigh Gap, Pa., from Mr. Viereck, are less than 4 mm. in length), with the abdomen obovate, and the pubes- cence upon the apical segments thinner or sometimes nearly absent. From Wash- ington Co., Wis., through the kindness of Dr. S. Graenicher, I have received speci- mens of both hortensis and sparsus; the much darker color of sparsus, and the very thin, sparse pubescence on the apical segments easily separates it from hortensis. The specimens of H. hortensis have the hair on the apical segments inclined to pale buff-color, while in the Maine specimens it is usually white though occasionally vary- ing slightly. Dr. Graenicher informs me, however, that on looking through his material he found several specimens with white pubescence. 8.- Length 5 mm.
Head longer than broad, face clothed with short, white appressed pubescence; mandibles black, rufous at apices; antennae testaceous be- neath; mesothorax finely punctured; disc of metathorax coarsely rugose, the rugae extending to the apex; nervures and stigma dark brown ; tegulae testaceous, or partly dark; legs black, tibiae at base and apex, and tarsi testaceous; abdomen cylindrical, finely punctured, apical margins testaceous.



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40 PSYCHE [April
Halictus albipennis Robt.
1890 Halictus albipennis Robt. Q 3, Trans, Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 317. 1905 Halictus nubilus Lovell, Q , Can. Ent. 37: 40. Female on Sedum acre, July 12; Rosa humilus, July 16; Solidago, Aug. 21; male on Solidago, Aug. 1-17.
The Maine specimens exhibit considerable variation in size.
Halictus cressonii Robt.
1890 Halictus cressonii Robt. Q d\ Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 17: 31. Female on cultivated blackberry, June 24; Epilobium angustifolium, July 23; Rhus typhina, July 11; Eupatorium perfoliatum, Aug. 25. Apparently common
throughout New England.
While Augochlora confusa is not uncommon in this locality, the rarity of bees belonging to the genus Agapostemon is shown by the fact that I have collected only four specimens in ten years.
Augochlora confusa. Robt.
1897 Augochlora confusa Robt. 9 8, Trans. Ac. Sci. St. Louis, 7: 324. Female on Garden plum, May 28; Solidago, Sept. 2; Leontodon autumnalis, Sept. 6; two males on Solidago, Aug. 17. Agapostemon radiatus Say.
1837 Halictus radiatus Say, 9 , Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. 1 : 394. 1897 Agapostemon radiatus Robt. Q 8, Trans. Ac. Sci. St. Louis, 7: 397. One female on Rubus strigosus, June 16; two females on Cornus alternifolia. Agapostemon viridulus Fabr.
1793 Apis viridula Fabr. Q , Ent. Syst. 2: 342. 1897 Agapostemon viridulus Robt. Q d\ Trans. Ac. Sci. St. Louis, 7: 326. One female taken on Rosa rugosa (cultivated), June 18, 1905.



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