A review of the Augochloropsis (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) and keys to the shiny green Halictinae of the midwestern United States
Author
Portman, Zachary M.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8943-8196
Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
zportman@gmail.com
Author
Arduser, Mike
Conservation Research Institute, Cedarburg, WI, USA
Author
Lane, Ian G.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6645-2136
Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
Author
Cariveau, Daniel P.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3064-0071
Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA
text
ZooKeys
2022
2022-11-18
1130
103
152
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1130.86413
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1130.86413
1313-2970-1130-103
C8FFC906D96F43ACA5B9FB21B6E27C33
6007CB98AFAA58A5BD50EA75BBF78B0C
Agapostemon (Agapostemon) sericeus (Forster)
Diagnosis.
The female of
Agapostemon sericeus
can be recognized by the combination of the metallic green metasoma (as in Fig.
4C
) and the reticulate sculpturing of the scutum (Figs
5B
,
6A
). It is most similar to
Agapostemon splendens
, but
Agapostemon splendens
has the scutum more punctured (Fig.
6B
) rather than reticulate, and
Agapostemon sericeus
can be further distinguished by its sharply angled dorsolateral ridge of the pronotum (Fig.
5B
) and by having the ventral pleural tubercle flush with the plate (Fig.
6C
).
Male
Agapostemon sericeus
have S3 and S4 with a low transverse swelling and generally have distinct yellow marks on the apical sterna (Fig.
7C
). They are most similar to males of
Agapostemon texanus
but can be distinguished by the relative lengths of F1 and F2: in
Agapostemon sericeus
F1 is slightly more than half the length of F2, whereas in
Agapostemon texanus
F1 is about three-fourths the length of F2 (Fig.
10
). They can also be separated by the genitalia (see
Roberts 1972
).
Remarks.
Agapostemon sericeus
was previously known as
Agapostemon radiatus
(Say) (e.g.,
Mitchell 1960
;
Roberts 1972
) but was synonymized by
Day and Fitton (1977)
.
Females of
Agapostemon femoratus
Crawford, primarily a western species not recorded east of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming by
Roberts (1972)
, are essentially identical to females of
Agapostemon sericeus
, though the males are quite distinct, possessing a grossly enlarged hind femur, its width and length equal or nearly so. The key in
Roberts (1972)
indicates the scutum of female
Agapostemon sericeus
is more distinctly punctate than
Agapostemon femoratus
, but we do not consider this a reliable separating character. Curiously, there are several Missouri records of
Agapostemon femoratus
from the 1960s identified by Roberts in separate online databases, (discoverlife.org,
Ascher and Pickering 2022
), but these were not included in his 1972 revision. We have not seen these specimens, but assume they represent mis-determined females of
Agapostemon sericeus
, not
Agapostemon femoratus
.