Ochreriades fasciatus.

18 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.Herein we present information on the nesting behavior of Ochreriades fasciatus (Friese) found occupying beetle galleries in dead trunks and branches of certain trees and shrubs in Israel. We also describe the pre- and postdefecating larvae thereby making known the mature larva for this uncommon Old World genus. Females of O. fasciatus build linear nests in existing burrows in dead wood; depending on the length of the burrow, 1-5 cells are placed in one nest. The cell partitions are made of hardened mud, while the nest plug consists of pebbles fixed together with mud. Ochreriades fasciatus is oligolectic on Lamiaceae and probably strongly associated with the two related genera Ballota and Moluccella. It is hoped that information concerning its nesting biology, host-plant relationships, as well as larval development and anatomy will eventually prove valuable in determining the phylogenetic position of this genus relative to other megachiline bees

Haetosmia vechti.

20 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.Herein we describe the nests (including structure, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Haetosmia vechti Peters found nesting in Rehovot, Israel. The nesting biology of H. vechti mirrors the ancestral nesting biology within the Osmia group of the Osmiini. Nests in sandy soil consist of an excavated burrow, ending below in a small cluster of vertical cells. The cells possess firm walls of masticated leaf pulp of Centaurea procurrens Spreng. and Heliotropium suaveolens M. Bieb., and are covered with pebbles and sand grains. The last larval instar and pupa of Haetosmia vechti are described, as is its cocoon. The immature stages exhibit the basic features of megachilid bees, but tend to have a thinner body vestiture compared to other studied taxa. In addition, we report new information on and review published accounts concerning the pollen collecting behavior of the genus Haetosmia Popov, which contains three species. Pollen taken from scopal hairs of 68 females collected at 17 sites in Turkestan, Morocco, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates was identified as originating solely from Heliotropium L. (Boraginaceae), which strongly suggests that all three Haetosmia species are narrowly oligolectic on this plant genus. In females of all three species, the second segment of the labial palpus is densely covered with rather long, apically curved and capitate bristles, an adaptation to collect Heliotropium pollen from anthers that are hidden inside the narrow corolla tube. Similar pollen-harvesting bristles specifically adapted to exploit flowers of Heliotropium seem to have evolved independently a number of times on different continents, in bees of four families

Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25–50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines

CropPol: a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination

Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e. berry weight, number of fruits and kg per hectare, among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), Northern America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001-05 (21 studies), 2006-10 (40), 2011-15 (88), and 2016-20 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non-commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY-NC-SA). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities.

While an increasing number of studies indicate that range, diversity and abundance of many wild pollinators has declined, the global area of pollinator-dependent crops has significantly increased over the last few decades. Crop pollination studies to date, have mainly focused on either identifying different guilds pollinating various crops, or on factors driving spatial changes and turnover observed in these communities. The mechanisms driving temporal stability for ecosystem functioning and services, however, remain poorly understood. Our study quantifies temporal variability observed in crop pollinators in 21 different crops across multiple years at a global scale. Using data from 43 studies from six continents, we show that (i) higher pollinator diversity confers greater inter-annual stability in pollinator communities, (ii) temporal variation observed in pollinator abundance is primarily driven by the three most dominant species, and (iii) crops in tropical regions demonstrate higher inter-annual variability in pollinator species richness than crops in temperate regions. We highlight the importance of recognising wild pollinator diversity in agricultural landscapes to stabilize pollinator persistence across years to protect both biodiversity and crop pollination services. Short-term agricultural management practices aimed at dominant species for stabilising pollination services need to be considered alongside longer-term conservation goals focussed on maintaining and facilitating biodiversity to confer ecological stability

Delivery of crop pollination services is an insufficient argument for wild pollinator conservation

There is compelling evidence that more diverse ecosystems deliver greater benefits to people, and these ecosystem services have become a key argument for biodiversity conservation. However, it is unclear how much biodiversity is needed to deliver ecosystem services in a cost-effective way. Here we show that, while the contribution of wild bees to crop production is significant, service delivery is restricted to a limited subset of all known bee species. Across crops, years and biogeographical regions, crop-visiting wild bee communities are dominated by a small number of common species, and threatened species are rarely observed on crops. Dominant crop pollinators persist under agricultural expansion and many are easily enhanced by simple conservation measures, suggesting that cost-effective management strategies to promote crop pollination should target a different set of species than management strategies to promote threatened bees. Conserving the biological diversity of bees therefore requires more than just ecosystem-service-based arguments

Andrena (Poecilandrena) sedumella Pisanty & Scheuchl & Dorchin 2018, n. sp.

<i>Andrena</i> (<i>Poecilandrena</i>) <i>sedumella</i> Scheuchl & Pisanty n. sp. <p>(Figs. 11, 26, 28, 39, 52, 61, 72, 74, 77, 90, 103, 116, 131, 137)</p> <p> <b>Female. Body length:</b> 5.5–6 mm.</p> <p> <b>Color.</b> Head and thorax black (Figs. 11, 39). Flagellomeres 2–10 black to reddish-brown posteriorly, reddishorange anteriorly. Legs brown to black. Wings brownish-hyaline, veins brown, stigma light brown. Tergal discs dark brown to black (Fig. 61). Tergal marginal zones dark brown to black basally, reddish apically.</p> <p> <b>Pubescence.</b> Head and anteriodorsal part of mesosoma with mostly white to yellowish, short to medium plumose hairs. Facial foveae with very dense minute hairs. Mesepisternum with long white to yellowish hairs. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal margin with long, white plumose hairs. Surface of corbicula with sparse, long, simple to plumose white hairs. Flocculus developed, with long white plumose hairs. Femora with mostly white hairs. Tibiae and tarsi with white to brown hairs. Scopa of moderate size, hairs strongly plumose, white anteriorly, white to brown posteriorly, gradually darker posterobasally. Terga with minute inconspicuous bright hairs. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with narrow white hair bands, strongly interrupted on 2–3, continuous on 4. Prepygidial fimbria golden-brown.</p> <p> <b>Head.</b> 1.1–1.2 times broader than long. Galea finely shagreened. Labral process trapezoidal, more or less smooth (Fig. 11). Clypeus weakly convex, shagreened to weakly transversely grooved, punctation somewhat coarse and shallow, with a distinct narrow impunctate midline, distance between punctures 0–1 puncture diameters (Fig. 11). Facial foveae shallow, of more or less uniform width, about as wide as 1/3 antennocular distance, extending from level of lower end of lateral ocellus to lower end of antennal socket or slightly below. Flagellomere 1 about 1.5 times as long as broad, about as long as 2+3 (Fig. 26); 2–3 broader than long, 3 slightly longer than 2; the following more or less square. Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus 1.5–2 ocellus diameters. Ocelloccipital distance 3/4 ocellus diameter.</p> <p> <b>Mesosoma.</b> Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not elevated, pronotum not carinate. Mesonotum very shiny, smooth to weakly shagreened, strongly, densely and somewhat coarsely punctured, distance between punctures 0.5 puncture diameters (Fig. 39). Scutellum similar, smooth, distance between punctures 0.5–1 puncture diameters (Fig. 39). Mesepisternum shallowly rugose-areolate, shagreened, coarsely but shallowly punctured, distance between punctures about 1 puncture diameter (Fig. 28). Propodeal triangle rugose basally, with radial grooves at basalmost part, and finely alveolate apically (Fig. 52). Propodeal corbicula reticulately shagreened and impunctate. Inner side of hind femur rounded, not carinate. Hind tibial spurs more or less straight and of uniform width. Hind leg pretarsal claws bidentate. Recurrent vein 1 meeting submarginal cell 2 near its middle. Nervulus more or less interstitial.</p> <p> <b>Metasoma.</b> Tergal discs 1–3 smooth and shiny, 4 weakly to strongly shagreened (Figs. 61, 72). Tergal disc 1 densely, strongly and somewhat coarsely punctured, distance between punctures 0.5 puncture diameter, punctation of following discs gradually decreasing in density, depth and size (Figs. 61, 72). Tergal marginal zones 1–4 occupying 1/4–1/2 tergal width, smooth to shagreened, punctation similar to discs but finer, hardly noticeable on tergum 4; width, shagreenation and depression of marginal zones increasing gradually from tergum 1 to 4. Pygidial plate finely alveolate, not elevated medially.</p> <p> <b>Male. Body length:</b> 5.5 mm.</p> <p> <b>Color.</b> Clypeus yellow except for a narrow black basolateral margin; paraocular area with small apical yellow spot, not reaching anterior tentorial pit (Fig. 74). Flagellomeres 2–11 black to brown posteriorly, brown to reddishorange anteriorly. Rest of body similar to female.</p> <p> <b>Pubescence.</b> Head and mesosoma with mostly white to brownish plumose hairs. Clypeus with dense white hairs of medium length. Supraclypeal and paraocular areas and scape with white to brownish hairs of medium length and density. Genal area with short white hairs dorsally, gradually longer to very long on ventral edge. Vertex with white to brownish, short and medium hairs. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with sparse, long, white to brownish hairs. Mesepisternum with very long white hairs. Propodeum with dorsolateral fringe of long white hairs. Femora and tibiae with white hairs. Tarsi with white to brownish hairs. Terga with minute inconspicuous bright hairs. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with narrow white, strongly interrupted hair bands; 5 with continuous band of very sparse whitish to golden hairs. Prepygidial fimbria whitish to golden.</p> <p> <b>Head.</b> 1.1–1.2 times broader than long. Galea finely shagreened. Clypeus weakly convex, smooth to weakly shagreened, moderately punctured, often with impunctate midline, distance between punctures 0.5–1.5 puncture diameters, puncture size medium (Fig. 77). Flagellomere 1 slightly longer than broad, about as long as 3 (Fig. 74); 2 broader than long; the following longer than broad. Ocelloccipital distance 3/4–1 ocellus diameter.</p> <p> <b>Mesosoma.</b> Mesonotum and scutellum very smooth and shiny medially, shagreened peripherally, strongly and somewhat coarsely punctured, distance between punctures 1 puncture diameter (Fig. 90). Rest of mesosoma similar to female.</p> <p> <b>Metasoma.</b> Similar to female, but punctation of tergum 1 slightly sparser (Fig. 103).</p> <p> <b>Genitalia and hidden sterna.</b> Gonocoxites connected. Dorsal lobe of gonocoxite absent (Fig. 116). Basal visible half of penis valves tapering apically; apical half resembling a bird's head, slightly broadened and then tapering to a needlelike apex (Figs. 116, 131). Blades of gonostyli not much broadened, apex rounded (Figs. 116, 131). Sternite 8 columnar, narrow and elongate, apex slightly broadened (Fig. 137).</p> <p> <b>Differential diagnosis.</b> <i>A. sedumella</i> closely resembles <i>A. crassana inka</i>, but differs from it as follows: body smaller, flagellomere 3 longer (Figs. 25–26, 73–74), mesonotum smoother (Figs. 38–39, 89–90), mesepisternum more shallowly sculptured (Figs. 27–28), terga 3–4 more finely punctured (Figs. 71–72), gonostyli and penis valves more slender basally (Figs. 115–116), and gonocoxite without dorsal lobe (Figs. 115–116) (see female key, couplet 6, and male key, couplet 4).</p> <p> <b>Distribution:</b> Israel.</p> <p> <b>Flight period:</b> February–April.</p> <p> <b>Flower records:</b> Crassulaceae: <i>Sedum hispanicum</i> (1♀); <i>Sedum</i> sp. (20♀).</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species is named after the plant genus <i>Sedum</i>, on which it was collected in three different localities.</p> <p> <b>Material examined: ISRAEL AND WEST BANK: Holotype:</b> Lakhish, 3km NE, 31.575˚N 34.870˚E, 11.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (♂) (SMNHTAU); <b>Paratypes:</b> Banias, 18.iv.1992, R. Kasher (2♀); Gal'on, 23.iii.2010, G. Pisanty (2♂); Jerusalem, Rehavia West, 27.iv.1945, on <i>Sedum hispanicum</i> (1♀); Kefar Giladi S, 1.iv.1997, R. Kasher (1♂); Lakhish, 21.iii.2012, T. Shapira (6♂); 10.iv.2012, T. Shapira (3♀, 2♂); 6.iii.2013, T. Shapira (2♀, 1♂); 19.iii.2013, T. Shapira (2♂); 20.iii.2013, T. Shapira (7♀, 1♂); 21.iii.2013, T. Shapira (1♀); Lakhish, 2km E, 4.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (4♂); 19.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (5♀, 4♂); Lakhish, 3km NE, 11.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (1♀, 4♂); 19.iii.2016, G. Pisanty, partly on <i>Sedum</i> (13♀, 1♂); 23.iii.2016, G. Pisanty, partly on <i>Sedum</i> (11♀, 2♂); 1.iv.2016, G. Pisanty, on <i>Sedum</i> (2♀); Mount Meron, 1100m, 17.iv.2000, A. Freidberg (2♂); Nahal Teqoa, 650m 31.iii.2009, A. Freidberg & M. Guershon (7♂); Park Britannia, 15.iv.2011, T. Koznichki (2♀, 1♂); 21.iv.2015, T. Chaprazaro (1♀); 24.iii.2016, T. Chaprazaro, on <i>Sedum</i> (1♀); 17.iv.2016, T. Chaprazaro (1♀); Ramat Hanadiv, 27.iv.2012, T. Shapira (1♀); Za'tara, 7.iv.2014, I. Arar (1♀) (ES, OLML, RMNH, SMNHTAU, ZSMC); <b>Non-type material:</b> Kefar Menahem, 3.iv.2017, T. Roth (1♂); Lakhish, 21.iii.2012, T. Shapira, stylopized (1♂); 18.ii.2013, T. Shapira, stylopized (1♀); 8.iv.2013, T. Shapira, stylopized (1♀); Lakhish, 3km NE, 23.iii.2016, G. Pisanty, stylopized (1♀) (SMNHTAU).</p>Published as part of <i>Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin & Dorchin, Netta, 2018, Taxonomic review of the subgenus Andrena (Poecilandrena) (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in Israel and the Levant, pp. 151-188 in Zootaxa 4374 (2)</i> on pages 164-165, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4374.2.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/1154360">http://zenodo.org/record/1154360</a&gt

Andrena (Poecilandrena) freidbergi Pisanty & Scheuchl & Dorchin 2018, n. sp.

<i>Andrena</i> (<i>Poecilandrena</i>) <i>freidbergi</i> Pisanty & Scheuchl n. sp. <p>(Figs. 13, 22, 41, 54, 63, 79, 92, 105, 118, 128, 134)</p> <p> <b>Female. Body length:</b> 7–7.5 mm.</p> <p> <b>Color.</b> Clypeus with strong, brilliant metallic luster and a rainbow-shaped pattern of alternating golden, reddish, bluish and greenish hues (Fig. 13). Lower portion of paraocular area under the foveae with greenish to bluish metallic luster. Supraclypeal and genal areas, upper portion of paraocular area, frons, mesonotum, scutellum, metanotum and terga with strong, brilliant greenish-golden metallic luster (Figs. 41, 63). Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres 1–3 black. Flagellomeres 4–10 reddish-brown posteriorly, reddish-orange anteriorly. Pronotum, mesepisternum and propodeum with relatively weak greenish-bluish metallic luster. Legs dark to light brown, brighter towards the tarsi. Wings hyaline, veins brown, stigma orange. Tergal marginal zones reddish basally, yellowish apically (Fig. 63).</p> <p> <b>Pubescence.</b> Head and mesosoma with plumose hairs, white ventrally, white to golden dorsally (Figs. 13, 41). Facial foveae with dense minute hairs (Fig. 22). Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal margin with long plumose hairs. Surface of corbicula with very few minute hairs. Flocculus developed, with long white hairs. Femora with white hairs. Tibiae and tarsi with mostly white to light brown hairs. Scopa well-developed, hairs mostly whitish and simple, gradually darkening dorsally, posterior side with some plumose hairs. Terga with minute, bright inconspicuous hairs covering the surface, and short white hairs laterally. Tergal marginal zones 2–4 with narrow and sparse white hair bands, strongly interrupted on 2–3, more or less continuous on 4. Prepygidial fimbria golden to light brown.</p> <p> <b>Head.</b> 1.3 times as broad as long. Galea shiny and almost smooth. Labral process trapezoidal, transversely grooved. Clypeus convex, shiny, shagreened to smooth, somewhat coarsely punctured, without impunctate midline, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters (Fig. 13). Facial foveae short and of uniform width, as wide as 1/3 antennocular distance, extending from level of lower end of middle ocellus to lower end of antennal socket (Fig. 22). Flagellomere 1 about twice as long as broad, slightly shorter than 2+3+4; 2–4 broader than long, 2 slightly longer than or as long as 3; the following almost square. Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus 1.5–2 ocellus diameters. Ocelloccipital distance 1 ocellus diameter.</p> <p> <b>Mesosoma.</b> Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not elevated. Mesonotum and scutellum very shiny, very smooth medially, somewhat shagreened peripherally, strongly and coarsely punctured, distance between punctures 1 puncture diameter (Fig. 41). Propodeal triangle radially grooved near base, otherwise shallowly rugose to finely alveolate (Fig. 54). Anterior part of mesepisternum shallowly honeycomb-areolated, posterior part reticulately shagreened. Propodeal corbicula reticulately shagreened. Inner side of hind femur more or less rounded, not carinate. Hind tibial spurs more or less straight and of uniform width. Hind leg pretarsal claws bidentate. Recurrent vein 1 meeting submarginal cell 2 at its distal half, 2/3–3/4 of the distance between submarginal crossveins 1–2. Nervulus weakly postfurcal to almost interstitial.</p> <p> <b>Metasoma.</b> Tergal discs 1–4 smooth, densely and distinctly punctured, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters, with the greatest density on tergum 2, puncture size medium to small, decreasing from tergum 1 to 4 (Fig. 63). Tergal marginal zones weakly and finely shagreened almost to apex, finely punctured; 1 narrow and hardly depressed; 2–4 occupying 1/4–1/3 of tergal width, distinctly depressed. Pygidial plate finely alveolate, not elevated medially.</p> <p> <b>Male. Body length:</b> 6–6.5 mm.</p> <p> <b>Color.</b> Clypeus fully yellow (Fig. 79). Supraclypeal, paraocular and genal areas, frons, vertex, pronotum, mesepisternum and propodeum bluish-metallic. Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres 1–3 black. Flagellomeres 4–11 reddish-brown posteriorly, reddish-orange anteriorly. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with bluish to greenish metallic luster (Fig. 92). Legs dark to light brown, brighter ventrally. Wings hyaline, veins brown, stigma orange to light brown. Tergal discs dark brown to black, hardly metallic; tergal marginal zones reddish basally, yellowish apically (Fig. 105).</p> <p> <b>Pubescence.</b> Similar to female.</p> <p> <b>Head.</b> 1.3 times as broad as long. Galea shiny, weakly shagreened to smooth. Clypeus convex, weakly shagreened to smooth, moderately punctured, without impunctate midline, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters, puncture size medium (Fig. 79). Flagellomere 1 about twice as long as broad, longer than 2+3; 2–4 broader than long, 2 slightly longer than or as long as 3; the following more or less square. Ocelloccipital distance 1.5 ocellus diameters.</p> <p> <b>Mesosoma.</b> Similar to female, but punctation of mesonotum and scutellum sparser and slightly finer, distance between punctures 1.5–2 puncture diameters (Fig. 92).</p> <p> <b>Metasoma.</b> Similar to female, but tergal punctation slightly sparser (Fig. 105).</p> <p> <b>Genitalia and hidden sterna.</b> Gonocoxites connected. Dorsal lobe of gonocoxite absent (Fig. 118). Penis valves with very broad lateral lamellar extensions, and an elevated bladder-like center. Basal part of gonostylus below blade tapering apically. Gonostylus blade somewhat triangular in lateral view, strongly and suddenly broadened at base, tapering apically, apical part elongate and pointed (Figs. 118, 128). Sternite 8 columnar, very narrow and elongate, of uniform width, apex slightly broadened (Fig. 134).</p> <p> <b>Differential diagnosis.</b> <i>A. freidbergi</i> closely resembles <i>A. segregata</i> Osytshnjuk from Central Asia, but differs from it in the shinier and smoother female clypeus, more distal position of recurrent vein 1 in submarginal cell 2, and different genitalia. The genital capsule of <i>A. freidbergi</i> differs from that of similar metallic species of <i>Andrena</i> (<i>Poecilandrena</i>) by the absence of dorsal gonocoxite lobes (present in <i>A. neovirida</i> Grünwaldt, <i>A. olympica</i> Grünwaldt, <i>A. segregata</i>, <i>A. smaragdina</i> Morawitz, <i>A. standfussorum</i> Scheuchl and <i>A. viridescens</i> Viereck) and the broad penis valves (narrow in <i>A. kilikiae</i> and <i>A. kondarensis</i> Osytshnjuk).</p> <p> <b>Distribution:</b> Israel (Mount Hermon).</p> <p> <b>Flight period:</b> May–June.</p> <p> <b>Flower records:</b> none.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> Named after the dipterologist Amnon Freidberg, our colleague who collected this species, and whose tireless collecting efforts throughout his career contributed greatly to the knowledge of the Israeli bee fauna.</p> <p> <b>Material examined: ISRAEL AND WEST BANK: Holotype:</b> Mount Hermon <b>[</b> Har Hermon], 2000–2100m, 26.vi.1997, A. Freidberg (♂) (SMNHTAU); <b>Paratypes:</b> Mount Hermon, 1970m, 15.v.2016, G. Pisanty (1♀); Mount Hermon, 2000–2100m, 26.vi.1997, A. Freidberg (1♀, 1♂) (SMNHTAU).</p>Published as part of <i>Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin & Dorchin, Netta, 2018, Taxonomic review of the subgenus Andrena (Poecilandrena) (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in Israel and the Levant, pp. 151-188 in Zootaxa 4374 (2)</i> on pages 157-158, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4374.2.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/1154360">http://zenodo.org/record/1154360</a&gt

Andrena (Poecilandrena) sphecodimorpha Hedicke 1942

<i>Andrena (Poecilandrena) sphecodimorpha</i> Hedicke 1942 <p> <i>Andrena potentillae pendelica</i> Mavromoustakis 1958</p> <p> <b>Neotype:</b> ♀, GREECE: Saloniki, Langadikia, 1.iv.1977, K. Warncke [OLML].</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> The holotype of this species (♀, BULGARIA: Umgebung von Sofia, 17.iv.1915, A.K. Drenowski) could not be located in Hedicke's collection in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin and is presumed to be lost (F. Koch, pers. comm.). Therefore, a neotype is hereby designated based on the information in Hedicke's original description.</p>Published as part of <i>Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin & Dorchin, Netta, 2016, Eight new species of Andrena Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Andrenidae) from Israel — a Mediterranean hotspot for wild bees, pp. 485-515 in Zootaxa 4189 (3)</i> on page 505, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4189.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/166181">http://zenodo.org/record/166181</a&gt

Andrena (Chlorandrena) danini Pisanty & Scheuchl, n. sp.

<i>Andrena (Chlorandrena) danini</i> Pisanty & Scheuchl n. sp. <p>(Fig. 3)</p> <p> <b>Female</b> (Fig. 3 A). <b>Body length:</b> 8–9 mm.</p> <p> <b>Color.</b> Head and mesosoma black (Fig. 3 A–C). Posterior side of flagellomeres black; anterior side of flagellomeres 1–3 black, 4 partly reddish, 5–10 reddish-orange. Legs dark brown to black. Wings transparent, veins and stigma golden. Tergal discs black; marginal zones brownish-yellow (Fig. 3 E). Sternal discs brown to black; marginal zones brownish-yellow.</p> <p> <b>Pubescence.</b> Hairs mostly whitish-golden and plumose. Face with long golden hairs (Fig. 3 B). Facial foveae with brown hairs above, whitish hairs below. Genal area with golden hairs, much longer ventrally. Mesonotum, scutellum and metanotum with sparse, very short bright hairs covering entire surface, and long whitish-golden hairs along lateral margins (Fig. 3 C). Mesepisternum with long whitish-golden hairs. Propodeal corbicula incomplete, posterodorsal margin with long golden hairs; surface of corbicula with very short hairs. Legs with white to golden hairs; flocculus white; scopa golden. Tergal discs with short, thin bright hairs covering entire surface and long whitish-golden hairs laterally (Fig. 3 E–F). Marginal zones of terga 2–4 with bands of dense whitish hairs, discontinuous on tergum 2, continuous on terga 3–4. Prepygidial fimbria golden (Fig. 3 F). Marginal zones of sterna with long whitish-golden hairs.</p> <p> <b>Head</b> (Fig. 3 B–C). Broader than long (Fig. 3 B). Glossa 6 times as long as broad. Labral process rectangular to trapezoidal, apex concave. Clypeus weakly convex, strongly punctured, basal part shagreened, apical part smooth to superficially shagreened, distance between punctures 1 puncture diameter. Flagellomere 1 twice as long as broad, slightly shorter than 2+3+4; 2–4 shorter than broad, 2–3 more or less equal in length; 5 almost square. Facial fovea broad, broadest and deepest above, shallower and slightly narrower below, occupying 1/3–1/2 of paraocular area, extending from level of middle of lateral ocellus to slightly below antennal sockets (Fig. 3 C). Distance of fovea from lateral ocellus and ocelloccipital distance about 1 ocellus diameter (Fig. 3 C).</p> <p> <b>Mesosoma</b> (Fig. 3 C–D). Dorsolateral angle of pronotum not elevated. Mesonotum coarsely punctured, distance between punctures 0.5–2 puncture diameters; anterior 1/4–1/2 of mesonotum shagreened, posterior part smooth (Fig. 3 C). Scutellum smooth, more finely punctured than mesonotum, distance between punctures 0.5–2 puncture diameters (Fig. 3 C). Mesepisternum reticulately shagreened, shiny, coarsely but shallowly punctured, distance between punctures 0–1 puncture diameters. Surface of propodeal corbicula reticulately shagreened, shiny, its center impunctate. Propodeal triangle rugose basally, reticulately shagreened and shiny apically (Fig. 3 D). Posterolateral part of propodeum roughened, shiny, reticulated (Fig. 3 D). Inner side of hind femur with row of ca. 11–14 small peg-shaped projections. Hind leg pretarsal claws with distinct inner tooth. Recurrent vein 1 meeting marginal cell 2 at about 2/3 of distance between submarginal crossveins 1–2. Nervulus interstitial to antefurcal.</p> <p> <b>Metasoma</b> (Fig. 3 E–F). Terga with medium-sized, regular, not crater-like punctures (i.e. puncture margins not raised). Disc of tergum 1 superficially shagreened to smooth, distance between punctures 1–3 puncture diameters (Fig. 3 F). Discs of terga 2–4 shiny, shagreened to smooth, distance between punctures 1–2 puncture diameters (Fig. 3 E). Marginal zones of terga 1–4 shagreened, very finely and shallowly punctured, those of terga 2–4 occupying about 1/2 tergum width (Fig. 3 E). Pygidial plate almost flat, central part alveolate.</p> <p> <b>Male.</b> Unknown.</p> <p> <b>Differential diagnosis.</b> This species resembles <i>A. exquisita</i> Warncke and <i>A. tadauchii</i> Gusenleitner, but differs from them by its smaller body size, slightly longer flagellomere 1 (in <i>A. exquisita</i> and <i>A. tadauchii</i> only slightly longer than 2+3), different sculpturing of dorsal part of propodeum (posterolateral parts of propodeum and apex of triangle almost smooth in <i>A. exquisita</i>, strongly reticulate-alveolate in <i>A. tadauchii</i>), and different punctation of tergum 1 (finer and sparser in <i>A. exquisita</i>, with distinct crater-like punctures in <i>A. tadauchii</i>). <i>A. danini</i> differs further from <i>A. exquisita</i> by the narrower and straighter facial foveae, orange flagellomeres 4–10 (brown in <i>A. exquisita</i>), denser punctation of mesonotum, and interstitial to antefurcal nervulus (postfurcal in <i>A. exquisita</i>). The tergal marginal zones of <i>A. danini</i> are broader than those of <i>A. tadauchii</i>.</p> <p> <b>Flight period:</b> February–April. One specimen was apparently collected in July (note in pencil), but this could be an error.</p> <p> <b>Flower records:</b> none. The species likely forages on Asteraceae as do many other related <i>Chlorandrena</i> spp. (Westrich 1989).</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species is named in honor of Avinoam Danin, a prominent Israeli botanist (1939–2015).</p> <p> <b>Holotype:</b> ♀, ISRAEL: Lakhish, 3km NE, 19.ii.2016, G. Pisanty [SMNHTAU].</p> <p> <b>Paratypes:</b> ISRAEL: Har Tuv, 22.ii.1955, student (1♀); Jerusalem, 2.vii.1940, H. Bytinski-Salz (1♀); Lakhish, 2.5km ENE, 6.iii.2013, T. Shapira (1♀); 20.iii.2013, T. Shapira (2♀); 13.iv.2013, T. Shapira (2♀); Lakhish, 3km NE, 19.ii.2016, G. Pisanty (1♀); 4.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (3♀); 11.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (1♀); 19.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (2♀); Lakhish, 5km ENE, 8.iv.2013, T. Shapira (1♀); Nahal Besor, 4.iii.1985, E. Shney-Dor (1♀); Netiv Halamed He, 2km WNW, 26.ii.2009, G. Pisanty (1♀); Park Canada, 18.iii.2016, G. Pisanty (1♀) [ES, OLML, SMNHTAU].</p>Published as part of <i>Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin & Dorchin, Netta, 2016, Eight new species of Andrena Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Andrenidae) from Israel — a Mediterranean hotspot for wild bees, pp. 485-515 in Zootaxa 4189 (3)</i> on pages 492-494, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4189.3.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/166181">http://zenodo.org/record/166181</a&gt