Nomada xanthura Cockerell, 1908

Nomada xanthura Cockerell, 1908 View in CoL (ruficornis group)

Yellow-banded Nomad

= Nomada ochlerata Mitchell, 1962 , new synonym; = Nomada detrita Mitchell, 1962 , new synonym; = Nomada mendica Mitchell, 1962 , new synonym.

Notes: This distinctively yellow-banded species was under-recorded in historical literature but has been found at various regional sites such as Ithaca, New York (J. S. Ascher pers. obs.; Veit et al. (2022[“2021”]), Vermont (S. Hardy pers. comm.), Massachusetts (Veit et al. 2022[“2021”]), and the following five towns in Connecticut: New Canaan and Danbury (Fairfield County), Barkhamsted and Goshen (Litchfield County), and Waterford (New London County). We consider both Nomada mendica Mitchell, 1962 , and Nomada ochlerata Michell, 1962 , to be junior synonyms of N. xanthura (see Gibbs et al. 2017a), and we concur with S. Droege’s observation shared on the Discover Life species page for N. xanthura that Nomada detrita Mitchell, 1962 , is an atypical N. xanthura with two submarginal cells and thus a junior synonym. In the original description of N. ochlerata there is an inconsistency in the description of the coloration of the first metasomal tergum with, “abdominal terga 1-6 more or less completely yellow banded, that on 1 rather narrow…” contradicting, “tergum 1 piceous basally, more reddish apically.” The latter description is correct whereas in the former description “1” should be updated to 2.

Although N. xanthura has been considered a possible junior synonym of N. gracilis by S. Droege (e.g., as reported on the Discover Life species page for N. gracilis ), we cannot accept this synonym because the two species differ strikingly in color pattern and occur together at places such as Ithaca, New York with no sign of intergradation. At least one male specimen identified as N. depressa by S. Droege from Essex County, New York proved upon reexamination to be N. xanthura .