Andrena (Notandrena) foeniculae Wood, 2020

Wood, Thomas James, Praz, Christophe, Selis, Marco, Flaminio, Simone, Mei, Maurizio, Cornalba, Maurizio, Rosa, Paolo, Divelec, Romain Le & Michez, Denis, 2023, Revisions to the Andrena fauna of Italy, with the description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Fragmenta entomologica 55 (2), pp. 271-310 : 274-276

Andrena (Notandrena) foeniculae Wood, 2020

Remarks. This species is recorded from outside of Iberia for the first time, including the first capture of the male which has not yet been described ( Wood 2023a). The species can be collected abundantly at Foeniculum vulgare in mid- to late-September, and has clearly been overlooked in both Iberia and Italy due to this unusual flight period. The Italian sequences are slightly divergent from the Iberian one ( Fig. 1 ), with an average genetic distance of 4.06% (range 3.93–4.10%); the distance among the Italian specimens was 0.45% (0.15–0.75%). In the absence of clear morphological differences, the divergence between Italian and Iberian populations is attributed to isolation by distance.

We suspect that A. foeniculae is the true identity of the specimen reported as A. (Notandrena) pallitarsis Pérez, 1903 from Sardinia (26 Aug 2017) by Nobile et al. (2020), due to the very late flight period and because we have seen photographs of Andrena closely resembling A. foeniculae taken on Sardinia, from which A. pallitarsis (a species of warm but humid summer grasslands) has never been recorded before the work of Nobile et al. (2020).

Diagnosis. The male of A. foeniculae can quickly be placed into the subgenus Notandrena due to the short and broad head ( Fig. 2B ), abundant yellow markings on the clypeus and lower paraocular areas, broad gena (clearly broader than the compound eye), and pronotum with a strong humeral angle. It is immediately recognisable due to the long ocelloccipital distance that is almost twice as wide as the diameter of a lateral ocellus ( Fig. 2C ). As in the female sex, this character is highly diagnostic for West Palaearctic Notandrena . The additional combination of red-marked terga ( Fig. 2E ), compact genital capsule without the penis valves noticeably broadened ( Fig. 2F ; compare A. pallitarsis ), the yellow marked clypeus and lower paraocular areas ( Fig. 2B ), and the late flight period of August–September means that A. foeniculae cannot be confused with any other Notandrena species. Description: Male: Body length: 7–9.5 mm ( Fig. 2A ). Head: Dark, 1.45 times wider than long ( Fig. 2B ). Clypeus basally slightly elevated, sloping anteriorly to apical margin, entirely yellow-marked with exception of 2 small black marks medially, yellow markings extending onto lower ½ of paraocular areas; surface of clypeus regularly punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter, underlying surface shining. Process of labrum rounded rectangular, short, 3 times wider than long, apical margin emarginate. Gena broad, exceeding width of compound eye; ocelloccipital distance 1.8–2 times diameter of lateral ocellus ( Fig. 2C ). Face with moderate whitish to light brownish pubescence, not equalling length of scape. Antennae basally dark, A3 apically, A4–13 ventrally lightened by presence of orange scales; A3 exceeding A4, shorter than A4+5, A4 quadrate, A5–13 rectangular, longer than broad.

Mesosoma : Scutum and scutellum polished and shining, without sculpture, irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 0.5–3 puncture diameters, punctures sparsest medially ( Fig. 2D ). Pronotum with extremely strong humeral angle, surface smooth and shining. Mesepisternum with granular microreticulation, dull to weakly shining. Dorsolateral parts of propodeum with granular microreticulation, surface shallowly and obscurely punctate, punctures separated by 1 puncture diameter, surface dull to weakly shining. Propodeal triangle laterally defined by weak rim, internal surface with fine granular shagreen, basally with obscure network of weakly raised rugae, propodeal triangle thus defined by change in surface sculpture. Mesepisternum with moderately long plumose hairs, white ventrally, light brown dorsally, becoming consistently light brown on scutum and scutellum. Propodeum with whitish plumose hairs. Legs basally dark, tarsi entirely orange, pubescence whitish. Hind tarsal claws with inner tooth. Wings hyaline, stigma and venation dark orange-brown, nervulus postfurcal.

Metasoma: Terga with colouration variable, from almost entirely dark with apical margins of T1–2 lightened hyaline yellow-red, to T1 medially, T2 entirely with exception of 2 black oval marks laterally, and T3 predominantly red-marked ( Fig. 2E ). Tergal discs and margins densely punctate, punctures separated by 0.5 puncture diameters, underlying surface finely shagreened, shining. Tergal discs with scattered short white hairs, T2–4 laterally with weak apical hair fringes of white hairs, not obscuring underlying surface. T6–7 with long whitish hairs overlying pseudopygidial plate. S8 more or less columnar, slightly broadening, apical margin truncate, ventral surface basally covered with fan of laterally spreading golden-brown hairs. Genital capsule compact ( Fig. 2F ), gonocoxae apically evenly rounded, gonostyli apically produced into flattened shovel-like triangles, internal margin strongly raised. Penis valves basally broad, occupying ½ space between gonostyli, medially strongly narrowed, becoming linear.

Material examined.

ITALY: ABRUZZO: 2♂, 1♀, Bolognano, Colle Bianco, 13 Sep 2021, leg. G. Marcantonio, ( TJWC) . LAZIO: 1♂, 1♀, Maccarese ( RM), 30–65 m, 25 Sep 2019, leg. M. Selis, ( TJWC) . CAMPANIA: 1♂, 6♀, Caselle in Pittari ( SA) , 14 Sep 2022, leg. S. Flaminio, (OÖLM/ TJWC) .

Distribution. Portugal, Spain, and Italy * ( Wood et al. 2020a).

Figures

Fig. 1 - Molecular phylogeny of selected members of the subgenus Notandrena Pérez, 1890, with a focus on Italian species. Maximum clade credibility tree found in Bayesian analyses of sequence data of the mitochondrial gene COI; numbers above branches indicate posterior probabilities; values below 0.5 are omitted. Outgroup taxa are not shown.

Fig. 2 - Andrena foeniculae Wood, 2020, male. A, profile; B, face, frontal view; C, vertex, dorsal view; D, scutum, dorsal view; E, terga, dorsal view; F, genital capsule, dorsal view.