Agapostemon (Agapostemon) melliventris Cresson, 1874

Portman, Zachary M., Arduser, Mike, Lane, Ian G. & Cariveau, Daniel P., 2022, A review of the Augochloropsis (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) and keys to the shiny green Halictinae of the midwestern United States, ZooKeys 1130, pp. 103-152 : 103

Agapostemon (Agapostemon) melliventris Cresson

Diagnosis.

Female Agapostemon melliventris can be recognized by having the apex of the clypeus yellow as well as their non-metallic, light-colored metasoma. The terga are generally amber-colored but can be dark enough (e.g., Fig. 4B ) to resemble Agapostemon virescens .

Male Agapostemon melliventris can be recognized by having the metasoma primarily yellow (Fig. 9A ), with just thin dark bands, and they also have the hind femur much skinnier (Fig. 8A ) than any of the other species treated here.

Remarks.

Agapostemon melliventris is not known from the midwestern US, though Roberts (1972) records if from eastern Nebraska and Kansas, so there is the potential for it to be found in Missouri and Iowa. We are not aware of any recent collections east of the 98th Meridian.

Figures

Figure 4. Agapostemon female metasomas A entirely black (Agapostemon virescens pictured) B dark brown with amber (Agapostemon melliventris pictured), note this is a darker specimen C metallic green (Agapostemon texanus pictured).

Figure 8. Male Agapostemon hind legs A Agapostemon melliventris B Agapostemon sericeus C Agapostemon splendens D Agapostemon texanus E Agapostemon virescens. Scale bar 1 mm, all images at the same scale.

Figure 9. Male metasomal coloration A Agapostemon melliventris with mostly yellow metasoma B Agapostemon texanus with mostly dark metasoma.