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Halictus farinosus, Smith, 1853

Properties

Scientific Name: Halictus farinosus, Smith, 1853

Common Name: Wide-striped Sweat Bee

Taxonomy

Halictus farinosus Smith, 1853: 69 [♀].

     Holotype ♀. USA, California [BMNH].

Halictus montanus Crawford, 1902: 234 [♀, ♂] (not Halictus montanus Friese, 1909: 122 = Lasioglossum montanum (Friese, 1909)]. Synonymy by J.C. Crawford, in Viereck et al. (1906: 300).

     Syntypes ♀, ♂. 12♀s: USA, Wyoming, Big Horn Mts., Laramie; Nebraska, Sioux Co.; Utah, Utah [UNSM]; Washington, Wawawai (R.W. Doane, coll.), Wawawai, Yakima, and Almota (C.V. Piper, coll.); 10♂s: USA, Washington, Wawawai (C.V. Piper, coll.), East Washington [UNSM?].

*Paranomia venablesii Ashmead, 1903: 243 [♀]. Synonymy by J.C. Crawford, in Viereck et al. (1906: 300).

     Holotype ♀. CANADA, British Columbia, Vernon, 20 July 1902, by E.P. Venables [USNM no. 6224].

Halictus denticulus Vachal, 1904: 469 [♂, ♀]. Synonymy by J.C. Crawford, in Viereck et al. (1906: 300).

     Syntypes ♂, ♀. USA, Nevada, by Morrison [Hofmuseum, Vienna] [NMW= Austria, Wien, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, listed as repository by Rasmussen 2012: 25].

*Halictus procerus Vachal, 1904: 469 [♂]. Synonymy by J.C. Crawford, in Viereck et al. (1906: 300).

     Holotype ♂. CANADA, British Columbia, Spence’s Bridge [MNHN].

 

Taxonomic notes: Nye (1980: 1) listed Robertson (1928) as a source for taxonomic information on H. farinosus Smith, 1853, though that work deals primarily with pollinator/plant associations and does not actually mention H. farinosus or any of the synonyms listed above.

Apparently only ♀ “cotyptes” of Halictus montanus Crawford, 1902 are at the UNSM (Muma 1952: 26); Sandhouse (1941: 32) incorrectly indicated the type specimen was at the USNM. The name Halictus montanus was subsequently used by Friese (1909: 122) for an African species of Lasioglossum, L. (Ipomalictus) montanum (Friese, 1909).

Sandhouse (1941: 32) indicated that the repository for the type specimen of Halictus procerus Vachal, 1904 was unknown, though Rasmussen (2012: 40) indicated MNHN = France, Paris, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle.

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAC3270

Biology: Detailed studies of the nesting biology of this species include Nye (1980), Eickwort (1985), and Albert and Packer (2013), the latter study indicating that small size dimorphism in females, the small number of workers and high degree of mating and ovarian development in workers suggested that the this species was rather weakly social compared to that in other social Halictus species. 

Distribution in Canada: Ashmead 1903 [BC, as Paranomia venablesii Ashmead, type locality]; Vachal 1904 [BC, as Halictus procerus Vachal, type locality]; Viereck et al. 1906 [BC]; Venables 1914 [BC, as H. montanus Crawford]; Criddle et al. 1924 [BC]; Sandhouse 1941 [BC]; Michener 1951 [BC]; Roberts 1973 [BC]; Hurd 1979 [BC]; Nye 1980 [BC]; Eickwort 1985 [BC]; Elwell 2010 [BC]; Albert and Packer 2013 [BC]; Elwell et al. 2016 [BC]; Sheffield and Heron 2019 [BC].

References

Ashmead WH (1903) A new Paranomia from British Columbia. The Canadian Entomologist 35(9): 243.https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent35243-9

Crawford JC (1902) Notes and descriptions of bees. The Canadian Entomologist 34(9): 234-240.https://doi.org/10.4039/ent34234-9

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

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.

Roberts RB (1973b) Bees of Northwestern America: Halictus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Technical Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Oregon State University 126: 1-23.http://hdl.handle.net/1957/8698

Sandhouse GA (1941) The American bees of the subgenus Halictus. Entomologica Americana 21(1): 23-38.

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

Vachal J (1904) Halictus nouveaux ou présumés nouveaux d’Amérique (Hymenoptera). Bulletin de la Société Scientifique, Historique et Archéologique dela Corrèze 26: 469-486.

Sheffield CS, Heron JM (2019) The bees of British Columbia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea, Apiformes). Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 115: 44-85.https://journal.entsocbc.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/1001/1097

Criddle N, Curran CH, Viereck HL, Buckell ER (1924) The entomological record, 1923. Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario 54: 87-102.

Venables EP (1914) Some observations of the Hymenoptera of the Okanagan. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 4: 61-63.

Friese H (1909) 8. Hymenoptera. 5. Apidae. In: Sjoestedts, B. Y. Kilimandjaro-Meru Expedition. Stockholm, 8: 119-168.

Robertson C (1929) Flowers and Insects. Lists of Visitors of Four Hundred and Fifty-three Flowers. The Science Press Printing Company, Lancaster, PA. 221 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.

Muma MH (1952) Insect types in the collections of the University of Nebraska State Museum. Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 3(8): 1-35.

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 (1910) The North American bees of the genus Nomia. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 38(1745): 289-298.

Rasmussen C (2012) Joseph Vachal (1838–1911): French entomologist and politician. Zootaxa 3442: 1-52.

Nye WP (1980) Notes on the biology of Halictus (Halictus) farinosus Smith (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). USDA ARR-W-11/May 1980. USDA-ARR, Logan, 29 pp.

Eickwort GC (1985) The nesting biology of the sweat bee Halictus farinosus in California, with notes on H. ligatus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 61(2): 122-137.

Albert J, Packer L (2013) Nesting biology and phenology of a population of Halictus farinosus Smith (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) in northern Utah. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 32: 55-73. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.32.4646

Viereck HL, Cockerell TD, Titus ES, Crawford JC, Swenk MH (1906) Synopsis of bees of Oregon. Washington, British Columbia and Vancouver.—V. The Canadian Entomologist 38(9): 297-304. https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent38297-9

Sociality: Eusocial
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mated Female

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: British Columbia
Ecozone: Western Interior Basin