Lasioglossum inconditum (Cockerell, 1916)
Properties
Scientific Name: Lasioglossum inconditum (Cockerell, 1916)
Common Name: Misbehaved Sweat Bee
Taxonomy
Halictus inconditus Cockerell, 1916: 101 [♀].
Holotype ♀. USA, Colorado, Tolland, July 1915, by L.A. Kenoyer, on Frasera [USNM no. 27994].
Halictus tracyi Cockerell, 1936: 161 [♀]. Synonymy by Gibbs et al. (2013: 31).
Holotype ♀. USA, California, Humboldt Co., 17 April 1935, by T.D.A. Cockerell [CAS no. 4277].
Evylaeus rufitarsis Mitchell, 1960: 359. Misidentification, not Lasioglossum rufitarse (Zetterstedt 1838); see comments below].
Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was described by Mitchell (1960: 359).
Though Cockerell (1916: 100) provided the description for Halictus inconditus Cockerell, 1916, the species was also reported as n. sp. by Kenoyer (1916), based on its determination as such by T.D.A. Cockerell.
Historically, Lasioglossum rufitarse (Zetterstedt) was considered a Holarctic species (Michener 1951; Mitchell 1960; Ebmer and Sakagami 1985; Moure and Hurd 1987), as previous study of Nearctic and Palaearctic populations suggested there were no morphological differences between them (Ebmer and Sakagami 1985). Gibbs et al. (2013) examined material (females) from Europe and found the medial punctation of T1 and T2 to be sparser than in Nearctic specimens, though indicated that more material will need to be examined. However, DNA barcodes from Palaearctic and Nearctic individuals are too divergent (6.7 % genetic distance) for them to likely be conspecific, and the distance is consistent with no gene flow between Nearctic and Palaearctic populations. Thus, Gibbs et al. (2013) considered the Nearctic representatives to be this species.
DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAB2947
Biology: This species is a polylectic (Moure and Hurd 1987), ground-nesting species (Cockerell 1936, as H. tracyi Cockerell, 1936). Cockerell (1936) reported it nesting in the ground at the base of a fallen tree. Packer (in Gibbs et al. 2013) excavated a nest of L. inconditum in Newfoundland which was shallow, with the burrow being almost parallel to the soil surface; the nest contained a single female, suggesting it is solitary, as is its close relative in Europe, L. rufitarse (Knerer 1968). Gibbs et al. (2013) indicate that the range of this species is mostly limited to alpine habitats or northern regions with short flight seasons; these conditions likely limit the formation of annual eusocial colonies.
Distribution in Canada: Knerer and Atwood 1962 [ON, as Evylaeus rufitarsis (Zetterstedt)]; Gibbs et al. 2013 [AK, YT, NT, NU, BC, AB, MB, ON, QC, NB, NB, PE, NS, LB, NF]; Sheffield et al. 2014 [AB, SK, MB], Hicks and Sheffield 2021 [LB]; Vizza et al. 2021 [ON]; Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB]; BOLD [SK]
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 5,806,314 km2
Index of Area of Occupancy (IAO) in Canada (http://geocat.kew.org/): 288 km2
Body length: ♀ 5.9 - 6.7 mm ♂ 5.8 - 6.4 mm
Forewing length: ♀ 4.6 - 5.1 mm ♂ 4.2 - 4.3 mm
References
Cockerell TDA (1916) Some bees from Colorado. The Entomologist 49: 100-102.
Cockerell TDA (1936) Bees from Northern California. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 12: 133-164.
Knerer G, Atwood CE (1962) An annotated check list of the non-parasitic Halictidae (Hymenoptera) of Ontario. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario 92: 160-176.
Mitchell TB (1960) Bees of the Eastern United States. Volume 1. North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 141: 1-538.
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
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
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.
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.
Hicks B, Sheffield C (2021) Native bees (Hymenoptera; Apoidea) collected from Labrador, Canada. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 17: 20-24.
Vizza KM, Beresford DV, Hung KJ, Schaefer JA, MacIvor JS (2021) Wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from remote surveys in northern Ontario and Akimishi Island, Nunavut including four new regional records. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 152: 57-80.
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
Ebmer AW, Sakagami SF (1985) Taxonomic notes on the Palaearctic species of the Lasioglossum nitidiusculum group, with description of L. allodalum sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Halictidae). Kontyû 53: 297-310.
Sociality: Presumed Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Polylectic
Wintering Stage: Mated Female
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Claytonia sp.
Distribution: Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Ecozone: Arctic, Atlantic Maritime, Boreal Cordillera, Boreal Plains, Boreal Shield, Mixwood Plains, Montane Cordillera, Newfoundland Boreal, Pacific Maritime, Prairie, Taiga Cordillera, Taiga Plains, Taiga Shield, Western Interior Basin