Brachymelecta interrupta (Cresson, 1872)

Melecta interrupta Cresson, 1872: 275 [♀, ♂].

     Lectotype ♀, designated by Cresson (1916: 121). USA, Texas, Dallas County [ANSP no. 2291].

Melecta interrupta var. fallugiae Cockerell, 1904: 23 [♀]. Synonymy by Linsley (1939: 453).

     Lectotype ♀, designated by Linsley (1939: 454, by mention). USA, New Mexico, Pecos, 27 June [no year provided], by M. Grabham, on Fallugia [CAS no. 4672].

Melecta interrupta var. rociadensis Cockerell, 1904: 23 [♂]. Synonymy by Hurd and Linsley (1951: 133).

     Holotype ♂. USA, New Mexico, Rociada, 10 August [no year provided], by T.D.A. Cockerell [USNM no. 23291].

Taxonomic Notes: Though Cresson (1916: 121) selected the ♀ specimens from the type series as the lectotype, he does not indicate the specific location in Texas; the type series was from Dallas and Comal Counties. Here it assumed the former, as it was the first location provided by Cresson (1872: 275). However, the USNM also has a specimen labelled as the ♀ lectotype from Texas [USNM no. 1764].

Linsley (1939: 453) synonymized M. interrupta var. fallugiae Cockerell under M. interrupta, though continued to consider M. rociadensis Cockerell a valid species (and described the ♀ on page 454), as did Linsley (1951: 1243) and Mitchell (1962: 496), the latter despite the synonymy above. As Cockerell (1904: 23) did not clearly designate a holotype of fallugiae Cockerell from the two ♀ specimens that formed the type series, Linsley’s (1939: 454) mention of “the type” with a type locality of Pecos, New Mexico is thus considered a lectotype designation.

Biology: Mitchell (1962: 497) indicated Anthophora abrupta Say as the host, but that species has only recently been confimred in Canada (ON). However, Robertson (1926), Graenicher (1935), Bouseman (1982), and Gibbs et al. (2023) indicated that Anthophora walshii Cresson was the most likely host, and in Canada, the two species have been collected in the same area (Gibbs et al. 2023).

Distribution in Canada: Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB].

Extent of Occurrence (EOO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): N/A [known from one site in Canada]

Approximate Global Extent of Occurrence (EOO) (http://geocat.kew.org/): km2

Index of Area of Occupancy (IAO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 4 km2

Conservation: The rarity and conservation concern for this species was discussed by Bouseman (1982), who considered it one of the rarest bees in the eastern USA, though it was not included in the review by Colla et al. (2012) due to recent records.