Melissodes druriellus and M. grindelliae- A nice fluffy character.

[Sam Droege]

All

I was looking at our collection of Melissodes druriellus specimens.  This species, in direct comparison to other Melissodes, has a distinct gestalt, but often  keys poorly as the characters used to point to this species are broad (e.g., dark hairs on the scutum...many species have dark hairs but druriellus has super black opaque black hairs...etc.).  

I was admiring the fluffy, long-branched scopal hairs on the hind tibia and realized that there were essentially no hairs that were not branched.

So, after looking through our collection of females here is what I came up with 

M. druriellus and M. grindeliae have all the hairs on the tibia that are adjacent to the abdomen branched. 

Other species have this same area of the tibia entirely occupied with simple hairs blending into the plumose hairs of the upper part of the tibia.  

Note: The narrow bottom part of the tibia (where when it folds to meet the femur) is largely bare of all hairs but may have a very few simple hairs, this goes for all species.

The following species from our collection were inspected.  If people have other species and wish to contribute to this character I will add those species to the guide.

Thanks

sam

agilis n

bidentis n

bimaculatus n

bimatris n

boltoniae n

brevipyga n

coloradensis n

communis n

comptoides n

coreopsis n

denticulatus n

desponsus n

druriellus y

fumosus n

gelidus n

glenwoodensis n

grindeliae y

humilor n

illatus n

limbus n

lupinus n

lustrus n

lutentus n

manipularis n

melanurus n

menuachus n

metanua n

microstictus n

mitchelli n

montanus n

niveus n

perlusus n

personattella n

pilleatus n

plumosus n

rivalus n

robustior n

semilupinus n

stearnsi n

subagilis n

subillatus n

tepaneca n

tepidus n

thelypodii n

tinctus n

trinodus n

tristus n

tuckeri n

utahensis n

velutinus n

verbesinarum n

vernoniae n

wheeleri n 

     Seagulls

A gull, up close,

looks surprisingly stuffed.

His fluffy chest seems filled

with an inexpensive taxidermist's material

rather lumpily inserted. The legs,

unbent, are childish crayon strokes—

too simple to be workable. 

And even the feather markings,

whose intricate symmetry is the usual glory of birds,

are in the gull slovenly,

as if God makes too many

to make them very well.

Are they intelligent?

We imagine so, because they are ugly.

The sardonic one-eyed profile, slightly cross,

the narrow, ectomorphic head, badly combed,

the wide and nervous and well-muscled rump

all suggest deskwork: shipping rates

by day, Schopenhauer

by night, and endless coffee.

At that hour on the beach

when the flies begin biting in the renewed coolness

and the backsliding skin of the after-surf

reflects a pink shimmer before being blotted,

the gulls stand around in the dimpled sand

like those melancholy European crowds 

that gather in cobbled public square in the wake

of assassinations and invasions,

heads cocked to hear the latest radio reports.

It is also this hour when plump young couples

walk down to the water, bumping together,

and stand thigh-deep in the rhythmic glass. 

Then they walk back toward the car,

tugging as if at a secret between them,

but which neither quite knows—

walks capricious paths through the scattering gulls,

as in some mythologies

beautiful gods stroll unconcerned

among our mortal apprehensions.

      -John Updike