Bees of Canada Logo

Andrena obscuripennis Smith, 1853

Properties

Scientific Name: Andrena obscuripennis Smith, 1853

Common Name: Dark-winged Miner Bee

Taxonomy

Andrena obscuripennis Smith, 1853: 118 [♀].

     Holotype ♀. USA, Georgia [BMNH no. 17a1389].

 

Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was described by Mitchell (1960: 130).

Biology: This species has been reported as a putative host of the cleptoparasite Nomada crudelis Cresson (Linsley and MacSwain 1955; Riddick 1993).

Distribution in Canada: Pindar 2014 [ON]; Woodcock et al. 2014 [ON].

The presence of this species in Canada needs to be confirmed; based on its known distribution in the adjacent United States (Mitchell 1960, Bouseman and LaBerge 1979), these records seem unlikely as it occurs much further south. The specimens may be A. commoda Smith.

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

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

Smith F (1853) Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. British Museum, London, 198 pp.

Woodcock T, Pekkola L, Dawson C, Gadallah F, Kevan P (2014) Development of a Pollination Service Measurement (PSM) method using potted plant phytometry. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 186(8): 5041-5057.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3758-x

Pindar AN (2014) The effect of fire disturbance on bee community composition in Oak Savannah habitat in southern Ontario, Canada. PhD Thesis, York University, Toronto. xiv + 160 pp.chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/503fc3a3-cf10-4b6b-85a2-229f7675c164/content

Linsley EG, MacSwain JW (1955) The habits of Nomada opacella Timberlake with notes on other species (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae). Wasmann Journal of Biology 13: 253-276.

Riddick EW (1993) Nomada annulata Smith (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae), a confirmed cleptoparasite of Andrena macra Mitchell (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) and other Nomada-Andrena associations. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 95(1): 107-112.

Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Wintering Stage: Adult

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: Ontario
Ecozone: Mixwood Plains

Distribution Map