Andrena (incertae sedis) limassolica Mavromoustakis, 1948

Pisanty, Gideon, Scheuchl, Erwin, Martin, Teresa, Cardinal, Sophie & Wood, Thomas James, 2022, Twenty-five new species of mining bees (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Andrena) from Israel and the Levant, Zootaxa 5185 (1), pp. 1-109 : 93-94

Andrena (incertae sedis) limassolica Mavromoustakis, 1948

Distribution: Cyprus, Jordan ( Pisanty et al. 2018). Newly reported from Israel. Likely present also in Lebanon and Syria.

Flight period: The main flight period is January–April, but one specimen was collected in October.

Flower records: Liliaceae : Gagea chlorantha ( Mavromoustakis 1948) , Gagea sp. (new observations from Mount Hermon); Rosaceae : Prunus dulcis ( Pisanty et al. 2018) .

Material examined: CYPRUS: Cherkes , 7.x.1948, G.A. Mavromoustakis (1♀) ; ISRAEL: Mount Hermon [Har Hermon], 1640 m, 33.300°N 35.7675°E, 7.iv.2021, G. Pisanty, sweeping (1♀) ; 1644 m, 33.2991°N 35.7667°E, 16.iv.2022, G. Pisanty, pan traps (4♀, 8♂); 33.2992°N 35.7670°E, 16.iv.2022, G. Pisanty, pan traps (3♀, 3♂); [ Hermon ], 1642 m, 33.2992°N 35.7668°E, 16.iv.2022, G. Pisanty, sweeping (1♂) ( NHMUK, SMNHTAU) .

Remarks. This species was previously classified in subgenus Poecilandrena ( Pisanty et al. 2018) . However, the unusal head morphology (with enlarged mandibles) of the male, the finely reticulate propodeal triangle, and the COI barcode sequence which does not cluster with other Poecilandrena , lead us to exclude this species from the subgenus.