Andrena (Cnemidandrena) parnassiae Cockerell, 1902

Zarrillo, Tracy A., Stoner, Kimberly A. & Ascher, John S., 2025, Biodiversity of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) in Connecticut (USA), Zootaxa 5586 (1), pp. 1-138 : 63-64

Andrena (Cnemidandrena) parnassiae Cockerell, 1902

Parnassia Miner

Notes: A female of this rare specialist of grass of Parnassus ( Parnassia glauca ) was observed visiting its host plant in the town of Kent (Litchfield County) in 2020 on a dirt road along the western edge of the Housatonic River (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184382498). In 2021, two males were collected along a forest edge in a calcareous inland wetland in a powerline ROW in Canaan (Litchfield County) during a targeted search for this species. Although grass of Parnassus was in peak bloom and the weather was optimal, no other individuals were seen during a two-hour search. In 2023, targeted searches for A. parnassiae in Connecticut by M. W. McCarthy and T. A. Zarrillo, in five different locations, yielded only a single female (see Figure 2, E). This species is documented in New Jersey, Vermont, North Carolina, Ontario, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York (near the Connecticut border in Dutchess County) by community scientists on iNaturalist.org, (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_i d=any&subview=table&taxon_id=198972), and there are recent records documented in Massachusetts (Veit et al. 2022[“2021”]) and Manitoba (Gibbs et al. 2023). Although A. parnassiae may be more widespread than previously reported, host plant abundance alone may not be a great predictor of bee occurrence (M.W. McCarthy, pers. comm.) or abundance (J. Gibbs, pers. comm.).

Material examined. Litchfield Co.: Canaan: 41.98722 -73.35138, 4 September 2021, coll. T. A. Zarrillo, 2 ♂, CAES, det. T. A. Zarrillo 2021, netted from Parnassia sp. , UCMS _ ENT 00077627 , UCMS _ ENT 00077628 ; Sharon: 2023, coll. M.W. McCarthy, 1 ♀, Rutgers University, det. M.W. McCarthy 2023, netted from Parnassia glauca .