DNA barcoding; Eastern Mediterranean; Israel; Jordan; Lebanon; solitary bee; species key; Syria; Genetics; Insect Science
Abstract :
[en] Andrena (Micrandrena) Ashmead is the largest subgenus of Andrena Fabricius 1775, with more than 150 species distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. The subgenus has gained notoriety as one of the most difficult taxonomic groups of bees, and remains poorly studied across large parts of the Palaearctic region. Based on extensive collecting in Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus, together with efficient DNA barcoding and and re-examination of old museum material, we present a thorough revision of the species of A. (Micrandrena) occuring in the region of the Levant (Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) and the island of Cyprus, including a detailed identification key, and a summary of our knowledge of the distribution, phenology and foraging biology of each taxon. Our study enumerates forty-two species of Andrena (Micrandrena) from the Levant and Cyprus, including four species new to the region, and nine species new to science: Andrena aphroditae Pisanty sp. nov., A. alshaykh Pisanty sp. nov., A. aspera Pisanty & Wood sp. nov., A. chananaea Pisanty & Wood sp. nov., A. friedmani Pisanty sp. nov., A. hebraica Pisanty & Wood sp. nov., A. kugleri Pisanty sp. nov., A. libanica Wood sp. nov., and A. phoenicia Pisanty sp. nov. We describe the males of A. calandra Warncke, 1975 and A. lindbergella Pittioni, 1950 for the first time. We additionally synonymise Andrena dargia Warncke, 1965 with A. minutula (Kirby, 1802) syn. nov., and recognise two previously subspecific names as valid species: Andrena leptura Warncke, 1974 stat. nov. and A. povolnyi, 1974 Warncke stat. nov.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Pisanty, Gideon ; The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Santerre, Rémi ; Université de Mons - UMONS > Faculté des Sciences > Service de Zoologie
Martin, Teresa ; Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Cardinal, Sophie; Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Wood, Thomas J.; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
Language :
English
Title :
Integrated taxonomic revision of the mining bee subgenus Andrena (Micrandrena) (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in the Levant and Cyprus
We are grateful to Toshko Ljubomirov (IBER), Joseph Monks (NHMUK), Esther Ockerm\u00FCller and Martin Schwarz (OLML), James Hogan (OUMNH), Frederique Bakker (RMNH), Villu Soon (TUZ), Stefanie Krause (ZMB), and Olga Schmidt (ZSMC) for hosting the authors at their collections. We also thank Androulla Varnava, Chistian Schmid-Egger, Erwin Scheuchl, Jakub Straka, Leander Bertsch, Martin Jenner, and Stuart Roberts for generously sharing specimens with us, and to Anna Papadopoulou, Loudmila J. Lagou and Eirini Loutsiou (University of Cyprus) for providing early access to Cypriot barcode sequences. We thank Silas Bossert (Washington State University, USA) and Michael Branstetter (USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, USA) for ongoing collaboration on Andrena phylogenetic work. The Cyprus Ministry of the Environment and Department of Forestry issued collecting permits for G.P. and R.S. This work was supported, in part, by operating grants from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to S.C. R.S. is funded by Wallonie-Bruxelles International (Excellence WBI.World scholarship). We thank Thomas M. Onuferko, John L. Neff and the subject editor for helpful comments on the manuscript
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