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Lasioglossum birkmanni (Crawford, 1906)

Properties

Scientific Name: Lasioglossum birkmanni (Crawford, 1906)

Common Name: Birkmann\'s Sweat Bee

Taxonomy

Halictus birkmanni Crawford 1906: 5 [♀]

     Type ♀. USA, Texas, Fedor, 24 March 1902, by G. Birkmann [NMNH: 12038]

 

Species Notes The ♂ was described by Mitchell (1960) as Evylaeus macoupinensis.

From Crawford’s (1906: 5) original description it is not clear if the type material for Halictus birkmanni Crawford, 1906 consisted of a single specimen, or syntypes collected at the same time and place. Gibbs et al. (2013: 22) indicated that it is possible that there is only one specimen (i.e., USNM no. 12038), though because it had a label indicating paratype, and because of its poor condition, hesitated to designate it as a lectotype. Though many of Crawford’s types are at UNSM, no specimens were listed by Muma (1952).

As discussed by Gibbs et al. (2013), the brown-legged form of L. birkmanni has traditionally been referred to as L. macoupinense (Robertson) (e.g., Mitchell 1960), a name which would have priority over L. birkmanni. Unfortunately, due to Cresson’s (1928) lectotype designation for H. 4-maculatus Robertson (= L. macoupinense Robertson) from a type series that contained two taxa, the correct useage of L. macoupinense is consistent with previous concepts of L. divergens (Lovell) (e.g., Mitchell 1960), which is now treated as a synonym (Gibbs et al. 2013).

DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAC8293.

Biology: This species is polylectic (Moure and Hurd 1987), and nests in the ground (M. Deyrup, as cited in Gibbs et al. 2013). There are no published accounts of social level, but it is expected to be solitary based on its close relationship to other solitary species (Danforth et al. 2003; Gibbs et al. 2012). 

Index of Area of Occupancy (IAO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 128 km2

 

Body length: ♀ 4.8 - 6.3 mm ♂ 4.2 - 5.5 mm

Forewing length: ♀ 3.9 - 4.8 mm ♂ 3.3 - 4.1 mm

References

Crawford JC (1906) Some new species of Halictus. The Canadian Entomologist 38: 4-6.https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent384-1

Gibbs J, Brady S, Kanda K, Danforth B (2012) Phylogeny of halictine bees supports a shared origin of eusociality for Halictus and Lasioglossum (Apoidea: Anthophila: Halictidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 65(3): 926-939.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.08.013

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

Cresson ET (1928) The types of Hymenoptera in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia other than those of Ezra T. Cresson. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 5: 1-90.

Moure JS, Hurd PD (1987) An annotated catalog of the halictid bees of the Western Hemisphere (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. vii + 405 pp.

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.

Gibbs J, Packer L, Dumesh S, Danforth BN (2013) Revision and reclassification of Lasioglossum (Evylaeus), L. (Hemihalictus) and L. (Sphecodogastra) in eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae). Zootaxa 3672(1): 1-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3672.1.1

Danforth BN, Conway L, Ji S. (2003) Phylogeny of eusocial Lasioglossum reveals multiple losses of eusociality within a primitively eusocial clade of bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Systematic Biology 52: 23-36. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3651080

Knerer G, Atwood CE (1964) Further notes on the genus Evylaeus Robertson (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). The Canadian Entomologist 96(7): 957-962. https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent96957-7

Sociality: Presumed Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mated Female

Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available

Distribution: Ontario, Quebec
Ecozone: Mixwood Plains

Distribution Map