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Andrena helianthi Robertson, 1891

Properties

Scientific Name: Andrena helianthi Robertson, 1891

Common Name: Sunflower Miner Bee

Taxonomy

Andrena helianthi Robertson, 1891: 56 [♀, ♂].

     Lectotype ♂, designated by LaBerge (1967: 99). USA, Illinois, Carlinville, 12-15 September 1887, by C. Robertson, on Helianthus grosseserratus [INHS, Robertson no. 7019].

Andrena nitidior Cockerell, 1900: 406 [♀]. Synonymy by LaBerge (1967: 95).

     Holotype ♀. USA, New Mexico, San Ignacio, 1 September 1899, by W. Porter [USNM no. 18929].

Andrena graenicheri Cockerell, 1902: 104 [♀]. Synonymy by LaBerge (1967: 95).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 28 August [no year provided], by S. Graenicher [USNM no. 18917].

Andrena lincolnella Viereck and Cockerell, 1914: 46 [♀]. Synonymy by LaBerge (1967: 95).

     Holotype ♀. USA, Nebraska, Lincoln, October [no year provided] [UNebSM].

 

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAK0277

Biology: The nesting biology of this species was studied by Parker and Bohart (1982). Parker and Bohart (1982) also found that nests of this species were attached by the cleptoparasite Nomada (Pachynomada) utahensis, a species later described Broemeling and Moalif (1988), though treated as a synonymy of N. vincta Say here.

Distribution in Canada: Gibson 1915 [ON]; Knerer and Atwood 1964 [ON]; LaBerge 1967 [AB, SK, MB, QC]; Hurd 1979 [QC west to AB]; Sheffield et al. 2014 [AB, SK, MB]; Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB].

 

 

References

Cockerell TDA (1900) Observations on bees collected at Las Vegas, New Mexico, and in the adjacent Mountains. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7 5(29): 401-416.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930008678307

Cockerell TDA (1902) North-American bees of the genus Andrena. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 7 9(50): 101-106.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930208678552

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 (1964) An annotated check list of the genus Andrena in Ontario (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 95: 41-56.

LaBerge WE (1967) A revision of the bees of the genus Andrena of the Western Hemisphere. Part I. Callandrena. (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Bulletin of the University Nebraska State Museum 7: 1-318.

Parker FD, Bohart GE (1982) Notes on the biology of Andrena (Callandrena) helianthi Robertson (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 58(2): 111-116.

Robertson C (1891) Descriptions of new species of North American bees. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 18(1): 49-66.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25076556

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

Viereck HL, Cockerell TD (1914) New North American bees of the genus Andrena. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 48: 1-58.

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

Broemeling DK, Moalif AS (1988) A revision of the Nomada subgenus Pachynomada (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 64(3): 201-227.

Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Broad Oligolecty
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva

Crop Preference: Medicago sativa, Helianthus annuus
Non Crop Preference: Aster sp., Solidago sp., Chrysothamnus sp., Helianthus petiolaris, Solidago canadensis, Solidago rigida, Helianthus sp., Ericameria nauseosa, Gilia sp., Bidens sp., Bidens aristosa, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Helianthus divaricatus, Helianthus giganteus, Helianthus grosseserratus, Helianthus maximiliani, Helianthus tuberosus, Silphium perfoliatum, Verbesina sp., Rudbeckia laciniata, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Cirsium undulatum, Peritoma serrulata, Helianthus pauciflorus pauciflorus, Helianthus pauciflorus subrhomboideus

Distribution: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan
Ecozone: Boreal Shield, Mixwood Plains, Prairie

Distribution Map