Andrena (Avandrena) heterodoxa Pérez, 1903

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, New Old World Andrena species, with a focus on Turkey (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5266 (1), pp. 1-72 : 57-58

Andrena (Avandrena) heterodoxa Pérez, 1903 sp. resurr.

Andrena (Avandrena) siciliana Warncke, 1980 syn. nov.

Material examined: ITALY: Sicile, 1♀, MNHN (lectotype of A. heterodoxa , by present designation) ; Sicilia, 1858, 1♀, leg. Mann, OÖLM (holotype of A. siciliana ) .

Remarks: Pérez’s (1903) description is typically unhelpful, first drawing comparison to the group of gwynana (= A. bicolor Fabricius, 1775 , subgenus Euandrena ), before comparing the species to A. panurgina De Steffani, 1889 (as A. panurgina Pérez, 1903 nec. De Steffani, but fortunately Pérez’s panurgina is the same taxon as De Steffani’s). No mention is made of the important presence of long spines on the posterior face of the hind femur. However, Pérez does mention that the taxon differs from A. panurgina by the much broader process of the labrum (this being narrowly triangular and pointed in A. panurgina ).

Warncke (1967) reported that he could not find type material for this taxon in the MNHN collection, and synonymised the taxon with A. bicolor , presumably based on the description. However, type material is present in the MNHN, with a single female specimen of A. heterodoxa ( Figures 34A–D ). This lectotype label was presumably added by H. Teunissen, as the handwritten determination label was added by Teunissen in December 1981, but it is not a valid lectotype since it was never published. The specimen may automatically be a holotype, but this is not clear from Pérez’s description. It is therefore hereby designated as a lectotype.

Warncke (1980) described A. siciliana from Sicily, based on a single specimen collected in 1858. This specimen is identical to A. heterodoxa through the combination of long spines on the posterior face of the hind femur, extensive black pubescence on the mesosoma and face, and broad process of the labrum. It is therefore synonymised syn. nov. Andrena heterodoxa appears to be restricted to Sicily. Pérez’s specimen is undated, so the only known year of capture is 1858. Under the most optimistic scenario, it has therefore not been reported since 1903 at the latest (the year of Pérez’s publication), and under the most pessimistic scenario it has possibly not been caught in the past 165 years (since 1858). However, members of the subgenus Avandrena are often specialists of Erodium ( Geraniaceae , though see Pisanty et al. 2022a) and are therefore frequently overlooked (e.g. Wood & Ortiz-Sánchez 2022). It is therefore possible that A. heterodoxa persists to this day on the island of Sicily.

Distribution: Italy (Sicily).

Figures

FIGURE 34. Andrena (Avandrena) heterodoxa Pérez, 1903 lectotype female.A. Label details, B. Habitus, lateral view, C. Face, ventrolateral view, D. Terga, dorsal view.