Andrena (Micrandrena) sandanskia Warncke, 1973

Wood, Thomas J., 1942, Revision of the Andrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) fauna of Bulgaria and North Macedonia with description of three new species, Belgian Journal of Entomology 117, pp. 1-39 : 31

136. Andrena (Micrandrena) sandanskia Warncke, 1973

DISTRIBUTION. Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia * ( GUSENLEITNER & SCHWARZ, 2002).

WARNCKE (1973): Holotype, • 1♂, Bulgaria, Sandanski , 1–8.vi.1967, leg. Kocourek, OÖLM.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. BULGARIA: • 2♀, 30 km SW Svilengrad , 550 m, 21.vi.2008, leg. M. & Z. Halada, OÖLM ; • 1♀, Kresna , 14.v.1979, leg. Kocourek, OÖLM ; • 5♂, 1♀, Parvenec [Parvenets], 25.v.1997 ; • 4♀, 12.vi.1996; all leg. A. Zaykov, OÖLM ; • 1♀, Plovdiv, 15.vi.1997, leg. A. Zaykov, OÖLM ; • 3♂, S of Sozopol , 40 m, 11.vi.2017, leg. B. Halada, OÖLM ; • 2♂, Sandanski , v.1967 ; • 2♂, vii.1966, all leg. Kocourek, OÖLM ; • 3♀, SE Lozenec , 16.vi.2008, leg. M. & Z. Halada, OÖLM ; • 1♂, Stara Kresna , 20.vi.1987, leg. J. Halada, OÖLM ; • 1♂, 1♀, Zidarevo [Zidaravo], S of Burgas, 12.vi.2017, leg. B. Halada, OÖLM ; • 1♀, Kardzali, Balabanovo , 22.vi.2007, leg. M. & Z. Halada, TJWC .

NORTH MACEDONIA: • 1♀, National Park „Galichitsa“, 600–1500 m, 26.vi.2014, leg. J. Halada , OÖLM.

NOTE. This poorly studied species seems to be restricted to mountainous regions in the southern Balkans. The presence of the species in south-western Macedonia extend the range to the west. Interestingly, this specimen was collected at the same time and place as the type series of the recently described Hoplitis galichicae Müller, 2016 , an oligolege of Sedum ( Crassulaceae, MÜLLER, 2016 ). Analysis of pollen loads from two A. sandanskia from Bulgaria ( SE Lozenec, 16.vi.2008; Kardzali, Balabanovo, 22.vi.2007) comprised pure Sedum pollen, suggesting that A. sandanskia may also be a specialist on this genus. Though Sedum oligolecty had not been previously documented in the European fauna before H. galichicae , several other recently described or elevated European bee species found in mountainous areas have either a confirmed or suspected specialisation on this genus, specifically Flavipanurgus kastiliensis (Warncke, 1987) and Andrena omnilaevis respectively ( CROSS & WOOD, 2018; WOOD et al., 2020c). These results suggest that A. sandanskia may fit into this pattern, and that other bee forage plants should be investigated in mountainous areas as they may host other overlooked or understudied bee species.