Andrena (Andrena) helvola ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Gautam, R. K., Uniyal, V. P. & Wood, Thomas J., 2024, A critical revision of the Andrena Fabricius, 1775 of India, with the description of two new species (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) from Uttarakhand, European Journal of Taxonomy 948, pp. 1-59 : 44

1. Andrena (Andrena) helvola ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Listed by

Meena & Dey (2019): North India.

Remarks

Andrena helvola is a predominantly West Palaearctic species, with some populations extending into the East Palaearctic in the Altai mountains of Kazakhstan and also into northern China (Heilongjiang; Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002; Osytshnjuk et al. 2005; Xu & Tadauchi 2012; Ascher & Pickering 2023; Wood, unpublished data). It is therefore considered implausible that A. helvola is present in northern India, since even in Ladakh the nearest verified populations would be over 1500 km away in the Altai mountains. Meena & Dey (2019) present no evidence to support this listing, and so this species is excluded from the Indian fauna.