Perdita albipennis canadensis Crawford, 1912
Properties
Scientific Name: Perdita albipennis canadensis Crawford, 1912
Common Name: Canada Perdita
Taxonomy
Perdita canadensis Crawford 1912: 360 [♀].
Holotype ♀. CANADA, Alberta, Medicine Hat, by J.R. Malloch [USNM no 15213].
Taxonomic notes: The ♂ was briefly described and compared to P. lacteipennis Swenk and Cockerell, 1907 by Stevens (1919: 205), though he indicated that some specimens were generally darker. Crawford (1912: 360) indicated that his species was close to P. albipennis Cresson, 1868, P. lacteipennis, and P. pallidipennis Graenicher, 1910, but indicated that it had a dark face (these other taxa have pale markings on the clypeus) and different patterning of other markings, including dark tubercles (pale in the typical form) and metasomal banding. Later, he indicated that he was uncertain of the validity of his species (as per Stevens 1919: 206).
Timberlake (1954: 398) referred to this taxon as P. lacteipennis canadensis Crawford, 1912, as was done previously by Cockerell (1922: 3) who indicated that P. canadensis was a form of P. lacteipennis Swenk and Cockerell, 1907, possibly a northern subspecies. However, Cockerell (1922: 3) also questioned whether P. canadensis, P. lacteipennis, and P. heliophila Cockerell, 1916 were races of P. albipennis. Timberlake (1968: 20) later placed P. lateipennis into synonymy under P. albipennis and considered P. heliophila a subspecies of P. albipennis.
Portman et al. (2023: 25) indicated that the validity of P. a. albipennis, P. a. canadensis, and P. a. heliophila requires additional taxonomic study, and indicated the entire subgenus needs a revision. Perdiata albipennis canadensis and P. a. heliophila both represent darker (i.e., fewer unmaculation) forms than the typical P. albipennis, the latter generally smaller (Timberlake 1968: 20) and the female without metasomal maculations (Cockerell 1916: 281) and found further south (Crawford 1912: 360; Cockerell 1916: 281, 1922: 3).
Male specimens from Saskatchewan have tergum 7 and pygidial area extensively pale yellow, with pale markings on the scape, while a single specimen from Manitoba is dark in these areas.
DNA Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:AAI2392
This BIN is shared with the eastern P. pallidipennis pallidipennis Graenicher, 1910.
Distribution in Canada: Crawford 1912 [AB, as P. canadensis Crawford, type locality]; Gibson 1913 [AB, as P. canadensis Crawford]; Sheffield et al. 2014 [AB, SK, MB]; Gibbs et al. 2023 [MB]; Onuferko et al. 2023 [SK, MB].
Sheffield et al. (2014) and Onuferko et al. (2023) recorded this as Perdita (Cockerellia) albipennis Cresson, 1868, though the specimens from the former are canadensis.
The observation from Alaska on Discover Life from the University of Kansas (384153) likely represents a georeferencing error of Ft. Apache, Arizona; it is not present on GBIF.
Datasets Used: GBIF.org (15 September 2023) GBIF Occurrence Download
References
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
Stevens OA (1919) The panurgine bees of North Dakota and a new Epeolus (Hym.). The Canadian Entomologist 51(8): 205-210.https://doi.org/10.4039/ent51205-8
Cockerell TDA (1916) Descriptions and records of bees.—LXXI. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 8 17(100): 277-287.https://doi.org/10.1080/00222931608693784
Crawford JC (1912) Notes on some Canadian bees. The Canadian Entomologist 44(12): 359-360.https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent44359-12
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
Cockerell TDA (1922) Bees of the genus Perdita from the western United States. American Museum Novitates 33: 1-14.
Onuferko TM, Buck M, Gibbs J, Sokoloff PC (2023) Asymmetric responses by bees and aculeate wasps to dune stabilisation across the southern Canadian prairies Insect Diversity and Conservation 16: https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12659
Portman ZM, Gardner J, Lane IG, Gerjets N, Petersen JD, Ascher JS, Arduser M, Evans EC, Boyd C, Thomson R, Cariveau DP (2023) A checklist of the bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Minnesota. Zootaxa 5304(1): 1-95. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5304.1.1
Timberlake PH (1968) 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 VII. University of California Publications in Entomology 49: 1-196.
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.
Gibson A (1913) The entomological record, 1912. Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario 43:113-140.
Sociality: Solitary
Nesting: Ground
Wintering Stage: Mature Larva
Crop Preference: Not Available
Non Crop Preference: Not Available
Distribution: Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
Ecozone: Prairie