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Andrena cyanura Cockerell, 1916

Properties

Scientific Name: Andrena cyanura Cockerell, 1916

Common Name: Cyanide Mining Bee

Taxonomy

Andrena cyanura Cockerell 1916: 252 [♀].

     Lectotype ♀, designated by Sheffield (2021: 54). USA, Colorado, Troublesome, 8 June 1908, by S.A. Rohwer, on Salix [CAS no. 15325].

Andrena transnigra paysoni Cockerell, 1924: 349 [♀]. Synonymy by Sheffield (2020: 54).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Wyoming, Chimney Rock, 17 May 1924, by C.L. Corkins [USNM no. 100707].

 

Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was described by Bouseman and LaBerge (1979:313), as Andrena transnigra Viereck, 1904 (see Sheffield 2021: 55).

Though Bouseman and LaBerge (1979: 314) mentioned the holotype for Andrena cyanura Cockerell, 1916, Cockerell's original work indicated two females, indicating syntypes.

Though both A. cyanura and Andrena transnigra paysoni Cockerell, 1924 were synonymized under Andrena transnigra by Bouseman and LaBerge (1979: 312), Sheffield (2021) resurrected A. cyanura and considered A. transnigra paysoni a synonym of that taxon.

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD: AAC1656

Distribution in Canada: Criddle et al. 1924 [BC, AB, as Andrena transnigra Viereck, 1904]; Bouseman and LaBerge 1979 [BC, AB, as Andrena transnigra Viereck, 1904]; Evans 2013 [AB, as Andrena transnigra Viereck, 1904]; Sheffield et al. 2014 [AB, SK, as Andrena transnigra Viereck, 1904]; Sheffield 2021 [YT, BC, AB, SK].

 

References

Bouseman JK, LaBerge WE (1979) A revision of the bees of the genus Andrena of the western hemisphere. Part IX. Subgenus Melandrena. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 104(3): 275-389.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25078228

Cockerell TDA (1916) Some Rocky Mountain andrenid bees. The Canadian Entomologist 48(7): 252-254.https://doi.org/10.4039/ent48252-7

Cockerell TDA (1924) A bee collecting trip to Chimney Rock, Wyoming. Entomological News 35: 347-350.

Sheffield CS (2021) Andrena (Melandrena) cyanura Cockerell, a valid North American species (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Andrenidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 117: 49-59.

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

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Taraxacum officinale, Nestotus macleanii

Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Ecozone: Montane Cordillera, Prairie, Western Interior Basin

Distribution Map