Batley & Houston: Australian bee genus Trichocolletes 
3 
Systematics 
Genus Trichocolletes Cockerell 
Trichocolletes Cockerell, 1912, p. 176; Michener, 1965, pp. 
78-80. Type-species Lamprocolletes venustus Smith, 
1862 (original designation). 
Diagnosis 
Moderately large bees (length 10-18 mm) distinguished by 
the following combination of characters: fore wings with 
three submarginal cells; pterostigma short, parallel-sided, 
ending at, or slightly beyond, base of vein r; basitibial plate 
of female hidden by setae and incompletely defined; inner 
hind tibial spur of female almost palmate (Michener, 2007, 
fig. 39-1 lb), of male, ciliate and broadened basally; labrum 
of both sexes at least 0.4x as long as wide, usually polished 
and smoothly convex, occasionally tectiform; mandibles 
bidentate, approximately parallel sided; compound eyes 
of some species covered with conspicuous, long setae; 
metasomal terga with apical, integumental bands usually 
metallic gold or silver but sometimes testaceous and 
inconspicuous. 
Descriptions 
Male. Face usually quadrate (eye length equal to interorbital 
distance at level of antennal bases), but sometimes wider than 
long; clypeus transversely convex, flat or weakly convex 
longitudinally; glossa broad, bifid: labial and maxillary 
palpi usually slender, almost reaching end of glossa; labrum 
uniformly convex (but with a tubercle in one species), length 
0.5 to 0.8x width with apical fringe of bristles; mandible 
bidentate, straight or gently curved, often slightly twisted 
about longitudinal axis; scape occasionally swollen, but 
usually slender; gena c. half as wide as eye viewed laterally, 
rarely wider; flagellum 20% shorter than to 50% longer than 
head width, occasionally modified apically. 
Legs usually slender, occasionally modified; tarsal claws 
deeply cleft; fore tibial calcar usually with strong apical 
spine, several long, fine teeth and rounded velum; hind 
basitibial area usually flattened with a posterior carina, 
but rarely forming a distinct plate; propodeum smoothly 
declivous; wings with three submarginal cells, stigma short, 
just reaching or slightly exceeding vein r. 
Terminalia: genital capsule elongate with large gono- 
forceps, obliquely truncated with long, plumose apical hair, 
occasionally with simple hair or bare (Figs 29-40); volsellae 
of moderate size, not enlarged as in Anthoglossa (Michener, 
1965, figs 197, 192); S8 simple with spatulate apex, narrow 
neck and cordate base, with only minor interspecific variation 
(Figs 41-43); S7 variable in form and diagnostically valuable 
(Figs 44-79), but retaining a combination of characters 
unique to this genus: partially hollow lateral lobes (arrowed 
b and e in Fig. 44), posterior margin usually with pair of 
blunt, hirsute projections (arrowed a in Fig. 44), surface 
extensively covered with long hair, anterior margin of lobes 
extended into ligulate processes (d in Fig. 44), frequently 
with a stout triangular tooth with serrated edges near base 
of each ligulate process (c in Fig. 44). 
Scape, labrum, mandibles medially and legs usually 
orange-brown; apical part of clypeus sometimes orange- 
brown or cream; metasomal terga sometimes wholly or 
partly red or orange-brown; apical bands of Tl-5 usually 
gold, silver or white; that of T6 translucent; sterna sometimes 
with narrow translucent margins. 
Clypeus, except ventral rim, usually densely punctate; 
frons and vertex finely reticulate and closely punctate; 
mesosoma either with a dull sheen or matt due to fine pit- 
reticulation that is sometimes strong enough to obscure the 
close punctures; metasomal terga dull or weakly shining, 
with weak, irregular, transverse lineolation or occasionally 
pit-reticulation (in which case the apical bands are lineolate), 
frequently surface is further roughened with broad, indistinct 
punctures or scrobiculi. 
Eyes with either conspicuous cover of long setae or nearly 
bare with only scattered, minute setae; face usually densely 
covered with orange or white hair; mesosoma excluding 
propodeal triangle usually conspicuously hairy; scutum 
with finely-branched, moderately long hair; scutellum, 
metanotum, mesepisternum and sides of propodeum with 
somewhat longer and more plumose hair, often orange- 
brown, becoming paler ventrally; fore basitarsus frequently 
with a plume of long, sinuous hair; coxae, trochanters 
and femora with mid-length or long, finely-branched hair, 
usually open but somet im es close or dense; T1 sparsely 
covered with long, erect, pale hair; T2 usually with similar, 
shorter hair; remaining terga with sparse or open simple, 
short, semi-erect hair matching the colour of the underlying 
integument (inconspicuous when viewed perpendicular to the 
surface, but often reflective creating a sericeus appearance 
when illuminated obliquely); sterna with open covering 
of long, semi-erect, finely-branched pale hair, rarely with 
dense hair tufts. 
Female. As for males, except clypeus often flattened 
sagittally; rarely labrum tectiform; scape always slender; 
flagellum between 0.55x and 0.72x as long as head width, 
never modified. 
Tibiae and basitarsi broader and flatter than in males; 
hind basitibial area usually obscured by dense stiff, curved 
setae; tarsal claws simple or with an inner ramus; pygidial 
plate with or without a longitudinal elevation, apex rounded 
or truncate, emarginate or entire. 
Clypeal punctures seldom dense, interspaces often 
reticulate, especially towards base. Facial hair usually paler 
than that of male and dense only in paraocular areas and on 
frons; scutal hair usually shorter and duller than in male; 
setae of hind basitibial area usually darker than those on 
surrounding areas; hair of hind femur and outer face of hind 
tibia plumose; T5 obscured by prepygidial fimbria. 
Colour variation. Colours reported in the descriptions are 
those for specimens in collections. The colours of some 
species in vivo are noticeably brighter. The thoracic hair of 
foraging female T. hackeri (Cockerell), for example, may 
appear to be mid- to light grey, but darkens considerably 
within hours post mortem. Similarly, T. maximus (Cockerell) 
looks to have brighter orange scutal hair when flying and 
the sericeus reflections from T. micans n.sp. when foraging 
in sunlight are so bright that the metasoma appears to be 
covered with pollen. 
