Agapostemon (Agapostemon) texanus Cresson

Diagnosis.

The females of Agapostemon texanus have the metasoma metallic green (Fig. 4C) and can be recognized by the “double-punctured” scutum, which has a combination of intermixed large and small punctures (Fig. 5A). Females cannot be reliably distinguished from Agapostemon angelicus, so they should be separated based on range or DNA barcodes (see remarks for Agapostemon angelicus above).

Male Agapostemon texanus have S3 and S4 with a low transverse swelling and generally have distinct yellow marks on the apical sterna (Fig. 7B, D). They are extremely similar to Agapostemon angelicus, but Agapostemon texanus have the hind tibia with black stripes on the front and back (Fig. 8D), whereas Agapostemon angelicus has the hind tibia yellow anteriorly (Fig. 11). In addition, the two species can be separated based on the genitalia characters given in the key (Fig. 12), and at least in the midwestern US, the range of the two species largely does not overlap.

Male Agapostemon texanus are also similar to (and frequently misidentified as) Agapostemon sericeus but can be distinguished based on the relative lengths of F1 and F2: Agapostemon texanus has F1 about three-fourths the length of F2 (Fig. 10A), whereas Agapostemon sericeus has F1 slightly more than half the length of F2 (Fig. 10B).

Remarks.

Agapostemon texanus and Agapostemon angelicus largely do not overlap in range in the midwestern region, though Roberts (1972) reports Agapostemon angelicus from Iowa and eastern Kansas (see remarks under Agapostemon angelicus, above).