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Photo#1195205
Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - male

Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - Male
In dead-end box-canyon east of Badwater Road, a few miles north of Mormon Point, Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, USA
February 14, 2016
Full-dorsal shot, showing antenna more clearly than any other shot I got.

Images of this individual: tag all
Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - male Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - male Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - male Death Valley Pollen Wasp on Phacelia calthifolia - Pseudomasaris basirufus - male

Again, great catch, Aaron!
Distance between eyes on the vertex is a reliable character to distinguish males of basirufus from maculifrons males. This one is obviously basirufus with the distance about three ocellar diameters. Much narrower in maculifrons, barely one ocellar diameter.
I'm just sorry I wasn't there.

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