Perdita ainsliei Crawford, 1932
Properties
Scientific Name: Perdita ainsliei Crawford, 1932
Common Name: Ainslie\'s Fairy Bee
Taxonomy
Perdita ainsliei Crawford, 1932: 74 [♂, ♀].
Holotype ♂. USA, Iowa, Sioux City, 4 July 1925, by C.N. Ainslie [USNM no. 40309].
Taxonomic notes: Timberlake (1953: 970) recognized the uniqueness of Perdita ainsliei Crawford and allied species, suggesting they desrved their own subgenus. He (Timberlake 1954: 377) subsequently proposed the subgenus Epimacrotera Timberlake the following year, with P. ainsliei as the type species.
Distribution in Canada: AB
This species was only recently found in Canada (Alberta); Crawford (1932) and Timberlake (1954) indicated that this species, the most northern ranging, was known from the western USA as far north as Iowa.
References
Crawford JC (1932) New North American bees. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 34: 69-78.
Timberlake PH (1954) A revisional study of the bees of the genus Perdita F. Smith, with special reference to the fauna of the Pacific coast (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) Part I. University of California Publications in Entomology 9(6): 345-432.
Timberlake PH (1953) Bees of the genus Perdita in the collection of the University of Kansas (Hymenoptera Apoidea). University of Kansas Science Bulletin 35: 961-985.
Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Pollen Specialization: Narrow Oligolecty
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alberta
Ecozone: Prairie