Apis andreniformis Smith, 1857

Wood, T. J., Risch, S., Orr, M. C. & Hogan, J. E., 2025, An illustrated type catalogue of the bee species collected by Alfred Russel Wallace and described by Frederick Smith from Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 1028, pp. 1-144 : 35-36

16. Apis andreniformis Smith, 1857

Fig. 19

Apis andreniformis Smith, 1857: 49 , ♀.

Type material examined

Holotype

MALAYSIA • ♀; Sar. [ Sarawak]; [ 29 Oct. 1854 – 10 Feb. 1856]; OUMNH, ENT-HYME2777 .

Type locality

Borneo ( Sarawak).

Notes

This species was not dealt with by Baker (1993). There is only a single specimen in the collection which is the holotype. There is now overwhelming evidence that Apis andreniformis is distinct from Apis florea Fabricius, 1787 ( Wongsiri et al. 1990; Rattanawannee et al. 2007). The year of publication is frequently given as 1858 which is incorrect (e.g., Wongsiri et al. 1990, 1997; Rattanawannee et al. 2007). This may have arisen from Maa’s (1953: 545) incorrect year listing of 1858, as well as Michener (1965). This is probably due to the complete release of Smith’s entire paper pages 42–130, the second part of which was published in February 1858 (see Material and methods), whereas the part describing Apis andreniformis (issue 6) was published in November 1857. Moreover, the species is sometimes reported with Smith’s name in parentheses, indicating a change in genus (e.g., Wongsiri et al. 1990). However, Smith (1857) clearly describes the name Apis andreniformis on page 49, and so the correct formation is Apis andreniformis Smith, 1857 . Michener (2007: 831) correctly gives the name with “Smith” lacking parenthesis, i.e., described using Apis in the original combination.

Current status

Apis andreniformis Smith, 1857 .

Distribution

India, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia (Peninsula, Borneo), Singapore, Philippines ( Palawan), Indonesia ( Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan) ( Hepburn & Radloff 2011).