Ulandrena Warncke, 1968

WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5483 (1), pp. 1-150 : 35-39

3) Revision of the concinna -group (within subgenus Ulandrena Warncke, 1968 )

The Andrena concinna -group consists of a small number of very large-sized Andrena within the subgenus Ulandrena . These bees are instantly recognised within the subgenus by their huge body size, with specimens usually exceeding 15 mm in length which makes them some of the largest Andrena species globally. The concinna -group can be recognised further because the hind tarsal claws of the females are bidentate, presenting an inner subapical tooth. This separates them from the other large-bodied Ulandrena , specifically A. armeniaca Popov, 1940 , A. elegans Giraud, 1863 , and A. fedtschenkoi Morawitz, 1876 which have the hind tarsal claws unidentate. The concinna - group therefore nominally contains seven species: A. carinata Morawitz, 1877 , A. concinna Smith, 1853 , A. crecca Warncke, 1965 , A. heinrichi Grünwaldt, 2005 , A. paradoxa Friese, 1921 , A. resoluta Warncke, 1973 , and A. tecta Radoszkowski, 1876 .

The oldest species name within this group is A. concinna which was described from Albania, and which is currently known only from Mediterranean Albania and Greece. The type series of A. concinna could not be found in NHMUK which is listed as the type depository by Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002). Smith (1853: 106) lists that the type material comes from the collection of W.W. Saunders, but there is no entry in the type catalogue of the NHMUK. In contrast, Smith (1853: 107) does not list a collection for A. variabilis Smith, 1853 , and this material can be found in the NHMUK type collection. This suggests that since Smith indicated a private collection for A. concinna , the material did not come from the NHMUK general collection and hence may be lost. However, it is not considered necessary to designate a neotype at this point, as the identity of this taxon is clear based on the description and also based on biogeography, since only one member of the concinna -group is present in Albania, i.e. A. concinna . Additional searches should be made in the NHMUK and OUMNH collections before a neotype is designated.

Warncke took a very broad approach to this species complex. As females are almost morphologically inseparable, differing most obviously in the strength of the tergal hairbands, he treated taxa as subspecies of A. concinna , describing A. concinna crecca from western Turkey (Brussa = Bursa; Figure 19 ) and A. concinna resoluta from North Macedonia (Skopje) ( Warncke 1965; 1973). However, within this group, there are clear differences in the genital capsule, and Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002) recognised six of these taxa as species, with a seventh described soon after ( Grünwaldt et al. 2005).

Both A. resoluta and A. crecca have been recognised as distinct species, but the differences between the two are obscure. Moreover, the distributional ranges are unclear; A. resoluta was considered a species of the southern Balkans around North Macedonia and south-western Bulgaria ( Warncke 1973), but specimens can be found in south-eastern Bulgaria close to the Turkish border (see below) and hence not far from Bursa, and specimens of A. crecca have been reported from the East Aegean Islands of Greece ( Rasmont et al. 2017). Warncke (1973: 28) gives small differences between A. resoluta and what can be assumed is the nominate A. concinna , since he does not specify the comparison taxon until mentioning ssp. crecca , where he argues that the gonocoxae of A. resoluta have a wide and sharply developed longitudinal ridge on their inner margin, whereas in A. crecca the transition from the gonocoxae to the gonostyli is smooth [“ Gonocoxiten besitzen auf der Innenseite je eine scharf ausgebildete und breite, längsverlaufende Leiste (bei der östlichen Unterart ssp. crecca Warncke ist der Übergang von den Gonocoxiten zu den Gonostylen gleichmässig, und der etwas höhere Penisaufsatz ist nach hinten zu noch starker verlängert, die Penisspitze nach unten gebogen) ”].

It is not clear what Warncke meant by this, because examination of the respective type material shows that the holotype of A. crecca does have a developed longitudinal ridge on the inner margins of each gonocoxite ( Figures 19F; H ). In the holotype itself, it is not so strongly developed as in type material of A. resoluta ( Figure 20F ), but examination of material from across Turkey shows that this is a little variable, and many individuals can be found that have the internal ridges as strongly produced as A. resoluta . Unfortunately, the penis valves of the holotype of A. crecca are not in a normal position ( Figures 19F–G ), but the apex of the penis valves can be seen where they are straight ( Figure 19G ), whereas in A. resoluta the apex is slightly upturned ( Figure 20E ). However, intermediates can be found between these two states, for example from Malko Tarnovo in south-eastern Bulgaria. In the context of examination of material from the southern Balkans to the Caucasus, these differences are considered to be both small and variable, and hence A. resoluta syn. nov. is synonymised with A. crecca .

Searches in the ZMHB were unable to find material of A. tecta , the listed type repository ( Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002). In the relevant box, there is a pinned note indicating that type material from both A. tecta and A. paradoxa have been on loan to Robert Wilhelm Grünwaldt (1909–†2003) since 1977. Since Grünwaldt’s collection was donated to the ZSM before his death, the material is likely to be there. No taxonomic action is therefore taken regarding A. tecta . Finally, A. carinata was described in the male sex only from modern day Armenia ( Morawitz 1877; Astafurova 2021). Although it can confidently be placed into the group of large-bodied Ulandrena species based on its declared size (16.5 mm) and declared morphological similarity to A. fedtschenkoi , it lacks a precise description or illustration of the genital capsule. As such, it could be a junior synonym of either A. tecta or a senior synonym of A. crecca since both taxa occur in the Caucasus, but as the type material is lost ( Astafurova et al. 2021), it is better to officially declare it a nomen dubium.

The concinna -group is therefore reduced to five species, A. concinna ( Albania, Greece), A. crecca ( Greece, Serbia *, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Armenia), A. heinrichi ( Greece: Samos and western Turkey), A. paradoxa (southern Turkey, Syria, Israel), and A. tecta ( Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran).

Figures

FIGURE 19. Andrena (Ulandrena) crecca Warncke, 1965 holotype male. A. Label details; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Face, frontal view; D. Scutum, dorsal view; E. Terga, dorsal view; F. Genital capsule, dorsal view; G. Genital capsule, lateral view; H. Genital capsule, inner margins of gonocoxae, detail.

FIGURE 20. Andrena (Ulandrena) resoluta Warncke, 1973 paratype male. A. Label details; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Face, frontal view; D. Terga, dorsal view; E. Genital capsule, lateral view; F. Genital capsule, dorsal view.