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Agapostemon texanus Cresson, 1872

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Scientific Name: Agapostemon texanus Cresson, 1872

Common Name: Texas Striped Sweat Bee

Taxonomy

Agapostemon texanus Cresson, 1872: 255 [♀].

     Lectotype ♀, designated by Cresson (1916: 109). USA, Texas, by G.W. Belfrage, and J. Boll [ANSP no. 2111].

Agapostemon texanus subtilior Cockerell, 1898: 27 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

     Syntypes ♀. USA, Washington, Olympia, June 29 [no year provided], and Pasco, 25 May [no year provided], by T. Kincaid [Cockerell Collection?]. 

Agapostemon borealis Crawford, 1901: 160 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

     Holotype ♀. CANADA, British Columbia, Vancouver, 4 April 1896, by Livingston [ANSP no. 13172].

Agapostemon californicus Crawford, 1901: 164 [♂, not ♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

     Lectotype ♂, designated by J.C. Crawford, in Sandhouse (1936: 82). USA, California, Southern California, by D.A. Saunders [USNM no. 5397].

Halictus (Agapostemonbrachycerus Vachal, 1903: 101 [♂]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Types ♂. GUATEMALA (Angrand 55) [Muséum National D’Histoire Nautrelle, Paris]

Agapostemon texanus iowensis Cockerell, 1910: 363 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Iowa, Ames, 1899, by W. Newell [USNM no. 29417].

Agapostemon proscriptus Cockerell, 1912: 24 [♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Syntypes ♀. GUATEMALA, Guatemala City, by W.P. Cockerell [USNM no. 23129].

Agapostemon joseanus Friese, 1917: 310 [♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Syntypes ♀. COSTA RICA, San José, by Schmidt [Zoologisches Museum, Humboldt Universität, Berlin].

Agapostemon sulfuripes Friese, 1917: 310 [♂] Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Type ♂. COSTA RICA. According to Roberts (1972: 533) the whereabouts of the type is unknown.

Agapostemon proscriptellus Cockerell, 1924: 538 [♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Holotype ♀. MEXICO, Guaymas, 8 April 1921, by Van Duzee [CAS no. 1503].

Agapostemon cyanozonus Cockerell, 1924: 539 [♂]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Holotype ♂. MEXICO, Guaymas, 7 April 1921, by Van Duzee [CAS no. 1506].

Agapostemon texanus vandykei Cockerell, 1925: 191 [♀]. Synonymy by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

     Holotype ♀. USA, California, Yosemite Valley, 25 June 1921, by E.C. Van Dyke [CAS no. 1652].

Agapostemon californicus psammobius Cockerell, 1937: 150 [♂, ♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Holotype ♂. USA, California, San Miquel Island, last week of July 1937 [CAS no.4654]

Agapostemon angelicus idahoensis Michener, 1937: 314 [♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Idaho, Challis, 26 June 1932, by L. Ireland [SEMC].

Agapostemon californicus clementinus Cockerell, 1939: 431 [♂, ♀]. Synonymy by Roberts (1972: 533).

     Holotype ♂. USA, California, San Clemente Island, middle of June 1938, by T.D.A. Cockerell and J.T. Scott, on Convolvulus macrostegius and Hemizonia clementina [UCMC].

 

Taxonomic notes: Crawford (1901: 160) examined one of the syntype specimens of Agapostemon texanus subtilior Cockerell, 1898 from Pasco, Washington, though unfortunately did not provide enough information to allow this to be designated as a lectotype. Sandhouse (1936: 82) indicated that the specimen was probably in Cockerell’s collection. No material has been subsequently found as Roberts (1972: 533) selected a neotype female from the the collection of the Univeristy of Colorado, Boulder, though did not provide a type locality or catalogue number.

Cockerell (1927: 157) felt that Agapostemon borealis Crawford, 1901 was likely a synonym of Agapostemon texanus subtilior Cockerell, 1898, though the synonymy was made by Sandhouse (1936: 82).

Cockerell (1927: 158) chose Pacific Grove, California, as the type locality for Agapostemon californicus Crawford, 1901, though according to Crawford (1901: 165), this location was one of five sites where males were collected; as Cockerell (1927: 158) did not provided specific details for a lectotype specimen, the specimen that Sandhouse (1936: 82) indicated was selected by J.C. Crawford as a lectotype male from “Southern California” (label of specimen, but recorded as “South California in Crawford 1901) should be considered the lectotype. However, in the most recent revision of the genus, Roberts (1972: 533) indicated Pacific Grove, California as the type locality which is at odds with the specimen selected by J.C. Crawford mentioned by Sandhouse (1936). Here, the specimen selected by Crawford, and its type locality, are used.

Cockerell (1927: 158) felt that the female Agapostemon californicus described by Crawford (1901) from Idaho were likely not associated properly, and likely represented another species, Agapostemon femoratus Crawford, 1901; Sandhouse (1936: 80) aggreed with the misassociation but felt they represented A. cockerelli Crawford, 1901.

Despite the synonymy of of A. californicus under A. texanus by Sandhouse (1936: 82), Michener (1937: 314; 1951: 1124) and Mitchell (1960: 455) considered some of the forms from California as valid subspecies (Roberts 1972: 537 consider these as blue forms); in fact Michener (1951) treated several of the synonymies as subspecies, including A. texanus clementinus Cockerell, 1939, A. texanus psammobius Cockerell, 1937, and A. texanus vandykei Cockerell, 1925 and also makes mention (Michener 1937) of Sandhouse’s (1936) work, indicating that he felt she had “gone a little too far in reducng certain species to synonymy” but also indicated that she had put “the classification of these bees on a firm basis”. Subsequently, Roberts (1972: 533) supported the classification of Sandhouse (1936).

Friese (1917: 311) suspected that his Agapostemon sulfuripes Friese, 1917 was likely the ♂ of his Agapostemon joseanus Friese, 1917, supporting the synonymy of the latter with A. texanus as the type material of the former is apparently lost (Roberts 1972: 533).

Cockerell (1927: 155) felt that his Agapostemon texanus vandykei Cockerell, 1925 was a distinct species, though Sandhouse (1936: 82) subsequently felt it was a synonym of A. texanus.

Though Sandhouse (1936: 82) placed Agapostemon texanus iowensis Cockerell, 1910 into synonymy under A. texanus, Roberts (1972: 533) also called this a new synonymy.

Roberts (1972: 533) records the type of Agapostemon californicus clementinus Cockerell, 1939 as ♀, though Cockerell (1939: 431) clearly indicated that the type was ♂.

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAB0973

Distribution in Canada: Robertson 1897 [BC]; Crawford 1901, 1906 [BC, as A. borealis Crawford, type]; Cockerell 1911 [SK], 1937 [AB];; Gibson 1911 [SK]; Michener 1951 [BC]; Mitchell 1960 [BC]; Knerer and Atwood 1962 [ON]; Roberts 1972 [BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC], 1973 [BC]; Hurd 1979 [south. Canada]; Moure and Hurd 1987 [south. Canada]; Patenaude 2007 [MB]; Elwell 2012 [BC]; Sheffield et al. 2014 [AB, SK, MB]; Taylor 2014 [ON]; Elwell et al. 2016 [BC]; Normandin et al. 2017 [QC]; Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB].

References

Cockerell TDA (1925) Bees in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (4)14: 185-215.

Cresson ET (1872) Hymenoptera Texana. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 4: 153-292.

Cockerell TDA (1910) Descriptions and records of bees.—XXVII. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8 5(28): 361-369.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222931008692781

Cockerell TDA (1911) Some bees from western Canada. The Canadian Entomologist 43(1): 33-34.https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent4333-1

Cockerell TDA (1912) Descriptions and records of bees.—XLV. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8 10(55): 21-31.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222931208693193

Cockerell TDA (1924) Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Gulf of California in 1921. The bees (II). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4 12(27): 529-560.https://biostor.org/reference/77990

Cockerell TDA (1937) Bees from San Miguel Island, California. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 13(4): 148-157.

Cockerell TDA (1937) The bees of Alberta.—III. The Canadian Entomologist 69(4): 86-89.https://doi.org/10.4039/ent6986-4

Cockerell TDA (1939) The bees of the southern California Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4 23(28): 427-436.

Crawford JC (1901) North American bees of the genus Agapostemon Guerin. Publications of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 7: 156-165.

Elwell SL, Griswold T, Elle E (2016) Habitat type plays a greater role than livestock grazing in structuring shrubsteppe plant–pollinator communities. Journal of Insect Conservation 20(3): 515-525.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-016-9884-8

Friese H (1917) Zur Bienenfauna von Costa Rica. (Hym.). Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 77: 287-348.

Hurd PD (1979) Superfamily Apoidea. In: Krombein KV, Hurd Jr PD, Smith DR, Burks BD (Eds) Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 2735 pp.

Knerer G, Atwood CE (1962) An annotated check list of the non-parasitic Halictidae (Hymenoptera) of Ontario. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 92: 160-176.

Michener CD (1937) Records and descriptions of North American bees. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 10 19(111): 313-329.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933708655269

Mitchell TB (1960) Bees of the Eastern United States. Volume 1. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 141: 1-538.

Normandin É, Vereecken NJ, Buddle CM, Fournier V (2017) Taxonomic and functional trait diversity of wild bees in different urban settings. PeerJ 5: e3051.https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3051

Robertson C (1897) North American bees−descriptions and synonyms. Transactions of the Academy of Sciences of St. Louis 7: 315-356.

Roberts RB (1973a) Bees of Northwestern America: Agapostemon (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Technical Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Oregon State University 125: 1-23.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8697

Sandhouse GA (1936) The bees of the genus Agapostemon (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) occurring in the United States. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 26: 70-83.

Sheffield CS, Frier SD, Dumesh D (2014) The bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Apiformes) of the Prairies Ecozone, with comparisons to other grasslands of Canada. In: Giberson DJ, Cárcamo HA (Eds) Arthropods of Canadian Grasslands (Volume 4): Biodiversity and Systematics Part 2. 4. Biological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, 479 pp. [ISBN 978-0-9689321-7-9].https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.3752/9780968932179.ch11

Cockerell TDA (1927) Bees of the genera Agapostemon and Augochlora in the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 3(4): 153-162.https://biostor.org/reference/224519

Roberts RB (1972) Revision of the bee genus Agapostemon. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 49: 437-590.https://biostor.org/reference/145357

Vachal J (1903) Étude sur les Halictus d’Amerique (Hym.). Miscellanea Entomologica 11: 89-104.

Gibbs J, Hanuschuk E, Miller R, Dubois M, Martini M, Robinson S, Nakagawa P, Sheffield CS, Onuferko T (2023) A checklist of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Manitoba, Canada. The Canadian Entomologist 155: E3.https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2022.45

Patenaude A (2007) Diversity, composition, and seasonality of wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in a northern mixed-grass prairie preserve. Master’s thesis. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Crawford JC (1906) Three new species of bees. The Canadian Entomologist 38(8): 282-284.https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent38282-8

Moure JS, Hurd PD (1987) An annotated catalog of the halictid bees of the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. vii + 405 pp.

Michener CD (1951) Family Halictidae. In: Muesebeck CF, Krombein KV, Townes HK (Eds) Hymenoptera of America north of Mexico Synoptic Catalog. 2. United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Monograph, Washington. Pp. 1104-1134.

Elwell SL (2012) The effects of livestock grazing and habitat type on plant-pollinator communities of British Columbia’s Endangered Shrubsteppe. MSc Thesis, Simon Fraser University. X + 110 pp.

Cockerell TDA (1898) Note on Agapostemon texanus. Entomological News 9: 27.

Sociality: Communal
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Adult

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan
Ecozone: Mixwood Plains, Montane Cordillera, Pacific Maritime, Prairie, Western Interior Basin

female; lateral view
female; lateral view