Holcopasites heliopsis (Robertson 1897)

Holcopasites heliopsis (Robertson)

Ammobates heliopsis Robertson, 1897:352–353, ♂ [Illinois: Carlinville].

Neopasites heliopsis.—Robertson 1900:55 [Illinois].—Crawford 1903:334 [Nebraska: West Point and Lincoln, on flowers Aster, Grindelia squarrosa, and Solidago rigida.].—Swenk 1907:298 [Nebraska: Lincoln, West Point, Springview, and Warbonnet Canyon, Sioux County on flowers Aster, Grindelia squarrosa, and Aster in the fall, and on Senecio in the summer].—Ducke 1908:45.—Linsley 1944: 280 [Montana: Winnecook].—Stevens 1951:204, fig. 1 [North Dakota: Drake, Fargo, Hatton, Mandan, McKenzie, Tolley, Valley City, Wales, and Williston, mostly at gumweed, also golden aster (Chrysopsis), Cleome lutea, fleabane, and Solidago Canadensis].

Holcopasites heliopsis.—Cockerell and Robbins 1910:190 [Colorado: Boulder at flowers Grindelia].—Crawford 1915:124, ♀♂; Cockerell 1928:111 [Colorado: Boulder].

Neopasites (Neopasites) heliopsis.—Linsley 1943:124, 125, 129–130, ♀♂ [Alberta: Lethbridge and Alberta. Arkansas: Ouachita Mountains, 2.5 miles north of Ft. Smith. Colorado: Boulder. Iowa: Sioux City. Montana: Winnecook. Nebraska: Lincoln and West Point. North Dakota: Fargo, Marmath, McKenzie, Minot, Mott, and Nicholson. Flower records: Brauneria pallida, Grindelia squarrosa, Mentha canadenis, and Ratibida columnaris].

Holcopasites (Holcopasites) heliopsis.—Linsley 1951:1207, ♂.—Mitchell 1962:486, 487–499, ♀ ♂ [Colorado to North Dakota and Illinois].—Krombein 1967:498.

Holcopasites lutzi Cockerell, 1934:12, ♂ [Colorado: Wray]. [New synonymy.]

Neopasites (Neopasites) lutzi.—Linsley 1943:125, 132, ♂.

Holcopasites (Holcopasites) lutzi.—Linsley 1951:1208, ♂ [Colorado].

LOCATION OF TYPES.—H. heliopsis, Illinois Natural History Survey, Urbana; H. lutzi, American Museum of Natural History, New York.

GEOGRAPHIC RANGE.—Southern Canada (Alberta) and north-central United States (Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota).

HOST.—Calliopsis nebraskensis Crawford (unconfirmed, see Table 1).

FEMALE.—Head and thorax black, metasoma dark reddish brown or deep mahogany red, apical margins of metasomal terga yellow, orange or pale reddish brown in coloration; antennae, clypeus apically, mandibles, pronotal tubercles, tegulae, and legs usually reddish brown; calcaria pale reddish brown. Vestiture of body chiefly white, mostly closely appressed and forming patches on face about antennal insertions, hind margins of head, dorsolateral surfaces of pronotum, mesonotal line, mesoscutum anterolaterally, mesepisterna marginally, scutellum laterally and mediolongitudinally, metanotum and propodeum at sides, legs basally and on metasoma, especially on terga; dorsal surfaces of head, thorax, and metasoma usually with almost inconspicuous golden or reddish golden pubescence intermixed. Wings feebly violaceous, rather distinctly brownish apically. Length 5–7 mm. Eyes bare or at most with a few, scattered, minute hairs; face above antennae coarsely rugusopunctate, neither bigibbosely swollen nor largely impunctate; antennae with first flagellar segment shorter than combined length of succeeding two segments; anterior and lateral ocelli separated by much less than twice their diameters; interocellar distance shorter than ocellorbital distance; rear angle of mandible well behind middle of eye; labrum longitudinally carinate medially, without a thornlike tubercle near base, closely punctate on basal half or more, without impunctate or sparsely punctate shiny areas basally; ventral surface of head rather closely and coarsely punctate especially adjacent to hypostomal carinae. Mesoscutum coarsely and rugosopunctate throughout, scutellum deeply cleft mediologitudinally to base, prominently bilobed and elevated posteriorly; metanotum without prominent posterolateral shelflike processes; mesepisternum rugosopunctate, without clearly defined punctures and without shining interspaces, without or at most with a small, evanescent, marginal patch of white pubescence; forewing with second submarginal cell not unusually small, more than one-half as long as first submarginal cell when measured along posterior side; spur of middle leg more than one-half as long as corresponding basitarsus. Metasomal terga II-IV (and sometimes V also) basally with two discrete spots of white or yellowish white pubescence on either side of middle, dorsal surface of first metasomal tergum with a quasicrescentic spot of white (or yellowish white) pubescence laterally; apical margin of tergum IV without or with evanescent spots of whitish (or yellowish) pubescense laterally; pygidial plate truncate apically, rounded laterally; fifth metasomal sternum angularly emarginate medially.

MALE.—Similar to female in coloration of integument and vestiture. Length 5–6 mm. Eyes and face as in female; antennae with first flagellar segment at least equaling combined length of succeeding two segments; ocelli and rear angle of mandible situated as in female; interocellar and ocellorbital distance about equal; labrum essentially as in female; ventral surface of head rather more closely and uniformly more punctate than in female, otherwise similar. Mesoscutum, scutellum, metanotum, mesepisternum, and wings as in female; tegulae impunctate and shining laterally. Metasomal terga II-V basally with two discrete spots of white (or yellowish white) pubescence on either side of middle, dorsal surface of first metasomal tergum with similar quasicrescentic spots of white (or yellowish) pubescence evident in female; apical margins of terga IV and V without or with evanescent spots of whitish (or yellowish) pubescence laterally; basin of metasoma not sharply defined, punctured at least at sides; apical margin of sixth metasomal tergum not bisinuate in outline, without a well-defined triangular projection medially; seventh metasomal tergum with lateral margins, as seen from above, evenly rounded, not angulately produced on either side of pygidial plate; pygidial plate more than twice as long as maximum basal width, parallel sided, narrowly liguliform in outline.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—ARKANSAS. CRAWFORD COUNTY: Ouachita Mountains, 25 mi N Ft. Smith, 2 ♀, VIII–31–39 (E. C. Van Dyke, CAS, Linsley 1943:130).

COLORADO. BOULDER COUNTY: Boulder (C. H. Hicks, Linsley 1943:132). LARIMER COUNTY: Ft. Collins, ♀, VII–13–00 (M. C. Van Duzee, CAS). Glen Haven, ♂, VII–1946 (P. B. Lawson, KU). YUMA COUNTY: Wray, 3,700 ft, ♂, VIII–17 to 19–19 (F. 4412C, AMNH).

ILLINOIS (Mitchell 1962: table 16). MACOUPIN COUNTY: Carlinville (Linsley 1943:130).

IOWA. WOODBURY COUNTY: Sioux City, ♀ (C. N. Ainslie, CIS, Linsley 1943:130).

KANSAS. CLARK COUNTY, 1,950 ft, 7 ♂, 2 ♀, VIII–24–11 (F. X. Williams, KU). NORTON COUNTY, 2,270 ft, 3 ♂, 2♀, VIII–24–12 (F. X. Williams, KU). SMITH COUNTY, 1,800 ft, ♂, 3 ♀, IX–4–12 (F. X. Williams, KU).

MONTANA. Winnecook, ♂, VII–19–39, flowers Mentha canadensis (S. S. Berry, UCR, Linsley 1943: 130, 1944:280).

NEBRASKA. BROWN COUNTY: Springview Bridge, ♀, VI–21–02, flowers Senecio (J. C. Crawford, USNM). CUMING COUNTY: Westpoint, ♂, VIII–16–03, on flowers Grindelia (J. C. Crawford, USNM, Linsley, 1943:130); ♀, IX–11–06, flowers Aster multifloris (J. C. Crawford, AMNH). DAWES COUNTY: Ft. Robinson, ♀, VIII–12–71, flying over nesting site of Calliopsis nebraskensis Crawford (K. C. Rozen, AMNH). DOUGLAS COUNTY: Omaha, ♀, VIII–16–13, flowers Helianthus (L. T. Williams, UN). LANCASTER COUNTY: Lincoln, 4♀, September (UN, CIS); 4 ♀, IX–1–01, flowers Grindelia (M. A. Carriker, Jr., UN); ♂, same date, flowers Solidago (M. Cary, USNM); ♀, IX–2–01 (J. C. Crawford, UCR); ♀, same date, on flowers Grindelia (J. C. Crawford, KU); 5 ♂, 4 ♀, VIII–27–02, flowers Solidago (M H. Swenk, UN, USNM, CU); 3 ♀, IX–7–03 (W. D. Pierce, UCR, USNM); ♂, IX–17–17, flowers Grindelia squarrosa (L. Bruner, UN). SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY: Mitchell, ♂, VI–25–13, flowers Astragalus adsurgens (L. M. Gates, UN). Sioux COUNTY: Monroe Canyon, ♀, VIII—7–08, flowers Solidago (R. W. Dawson, UN). War Bonnet Canyon, 2 ♀, VII–23–01, flowers Helianthus (M. A. Carriker, Jr., UN).

NORTH DAKOTA. BARNES COUNTY: Valley City, ♂, VII–27–15, flowers Chrysopsis (O. A. Stevens, USNM); ♀, VIII–27–15, flowers Ratibida columnaris (O. A. Stevens, AMNH). BURLEIGH COUNTY: McKenzie, ♂, 3 ♀, VIII—5–13, on flowers Grindelia squarrosa (O. A. Stevens, AMNH, USNM). CASS COUNTY: Fargo, ♂, VIII—10–17, flowers Grindelia squarrosa (O. A. Stevens, AMNH); ♂, ♀, VIII—11–17, flowers Grindelia squarrosa (O. A. Stevens, AMNH); 2 ♀, VIII–12–17, flowers Grindelia squarrosa (O. A. Stevens, AMNH); ♀, VIII—17–11, flowers Grindelia squarrosa (O. A. Stevens, CIS). HETTINGER COUNTY: Mott, 2 ♂, ♀, VII–7–18, flowers Brauneria pallida (O. A. Stevens, AMNH). SARGEANT COUNTY: Nicholson, ♂, VII—4–13, flowers Ratibida columnaris (O. A. Stevens, CIS). SLOPE COUNTY: Marmarth, 2 ♂, VII—4–18, flowers Brauneria pallida (O. A. Stevens, AMNH). WARD COUNTY: Minot, ♀, VII–25–15, flowers Ratibida columnaris (O. A. Stevents, AMNH).

CANADA. ALBERTA: Lethbridge and Medicine Hat (Sladen, Linsley 1943:130).

Among the species of the Spotted Species Group of the subgenus Holcopasites, H. heliopsis is easily recognized by the strongly elevated scutellum which is deeply cleft medially to the base and by the absence or nearly so of any white pubescence on the vertical face of the mesepisternum. In its dark coloration this species bears a striking resemblance to H. pulchellus, but it is usually larger and is provided with much less extensive patches of white (or yellowish white) pubescence especially on the dorsal surfaces of the head, thorax, and metasoma. It has most frequently been collected at the flowers of various Compositae and on a number of occasions has been found visiting the same flowers in company with H. stevensi and H. pulchellus. Although nothing is known about its host relationships, recently a female of this species was collected by K. C. Rozen at a nesting site of Calliopsis (Verbenapis) nebraskensis Crawford. Even though a number of C. nebraskensis were nesting in the area, only the single specimen of Holcopasites was observed at the nesting site. Excavation of the nests failed to demonstrate immatures of Holcopasites.