Anthophora tricolor Fabricius

Anthophora tricolor (Fabricius)

 

Genus: Anthophora (From The Bees of the World –  Michener 2007)

• 3 submarginal cells
• First recurrent vein joining second submarginal cell near middle; third submarginal cell subquadrate, with front and rear margins of about equal length
• Male gonostylus (Genitalia) usually less than one third as long as gonocoxite, often not double, sometimes reduced to almost nothing
• Arolia present
• Nest in soil

Subgenus: Mystacanthophora (From The Bees of the World –  Michener 2007)

• Pygidial plate of the male not defined (but there is an apical truncate or emarginated process – presumably representing the plate on T7)
• The basitibial plates are absent or poorly defined (although well defined in two species)!!
• S5 and S6 of the male are almost always modified
• S5 with tufts or a band of black hair
• S6 often with an apical emargination
• Body length (9-16 mm)
• In many species the clypeus of the female is flat or weakly convex, little protuberant

FEMALES (Species) (Bees of the genus Anthophora Latreille 1803 (Hymenoptera Apidae Anthophorini) of the West Indies by RW Brooks – Tropical Zoology, 1999)

• Female,  length  11.4-12.5  mm; forewing  length  8.2-8.9  mm.
• shortest  distance  between  eyes is 0.8 the length  of the eye
• head wider than long
• clypeus  not flattened,  clypeal  protuberance in  profile  0.37  width  of eye
• F1  equal  to  next  2.5 flagellomeres  taken  together,  0.69  as  long  as scape  and  1.67  times  as  long  as  last flagellomere,  F2  .
•  0.34 of F1,  F3-9  about equal in length, each segment a  little longer than wide;
• distance  between  posterior ocelli  equal  to  ocellocular distance;
• distance from  median ocellus  to  posterior ocellus  equal  to  0.50  ocellocular distance
• Marginal  cell  length  0.79  distance  from  apex  of marginal  cell  to  wing  tip
• hindwing  with  cu-a  0.75  times  length  of second  abscissa  of M  +  Cu;  vein  M  2.6 times  as  long  as  second  abscissa  of  M  +  Cu.
• Integumental  coloration : Dark brown on dorsum  and sides,  reddish-brown  on ventral surface; T1-T4  with  transverse  apical  ivory  integumental  bands.
• Pubescence: Head  mostly  white with black  hairs intermixed on vertex  and ocellar areas;  white  hairs  in  paraocular areas dense such  that  integument  is  barely visible  if at  all.  Scutum,  pleura  and  ventral surfaces densely  covered with fox-red hair  intermixed  with  black  hair; scutellum,  metanotum,  propodeal  area with fox-red  hair but dorsal surface of thorax still visible;  hair on legs chocolate-brown; hair on legs chocolate-brown (sometimes all  black in melanic specimens  from  Puerto Rico  and  Hispaniola); T2-T4  with suppressed black  hair,  additionally T4 with  narrow  transverse  apical  band  of white  hair;  T5  with  black  hair  and  white hair laterally;  T6  all  black,  S1  and S2  medially with  white  hair,  S3-S6 with  black hair

MALES (Species) (Bees of the genus Anthophora Latreille 1803 (Hymenoptera Apidae Anthophorini) of the West Indies by RW Brooks – Tropical Zoology, 1999)

• Same as female, except for:
• length 8.6-10.7 mm; forewing length 7.1-7.8  mm.
• Shortest distance between eyes  0.80 length  of eye
• F1  equal to next  1.20 flagellomeres  taken together, 0.52  as long as scape and as long as last flagellomere,  F2  0.77 length of F1
• distance between posterior ocelli equal to ocelocular distance.
• Marginal  cell  length  equal  to  distance from apex of marginal  cell  to wing tip
• hindwing with cu-a  1.60 times length of second  abscissa of M  +  Cu;  vein  M  3.5  times  as  long  as second  abscissa  of M  +  Cu;
• Integumental  coloration : Pale  translucent  cream  integumental  marks  on face  as  in  Fig.  30,  pale  mark sometimes  present  at  base  of mandible;  T1-T6  with  apical  integumental  ivory  bands.
• Pubescences: Thorax densely  covered with black  hair except metanotum,  propodeal  area and T1  covered  with  fox-red  hair (melanic specimens from  Puerto Rico have  thoracic  hair all  black  except  a  tuft  of ochraceous  hair laterally on  propodeum);  hair on legs  chocolate-brown, except ochraceous and black hair intermixed on outer apical  surfaces  of tibiae,  tarsi  and  outer base  of hind  tibia  (melanic specimens from  Puerto Rico  with  leg  hair all  black  except  ochraceous  patch  on  outer surfaces of apex of midtibia and basitibial plate of hind leg);  T2-TS  with posteriorly inclined dark hairs; T6 with  black  hair and white  hair laterally; T7  all  black; sterna with ochraceous hair except apical  margin of S4 with  black hair,  SS  with four dark apicosubmedian hair patches (Fig.  31 ).