Andrena (Hoplandrena) subspinigera Cockerell, 1917

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 : 26-27

11. Andrena (Hoplandrena) subspinigera Cockerell, 1917 *

Andrena subspinigera Cockerell, 1917: 284 , ♀ [ Pakistan, USNM, examined by photograph].

Listed by

Meena & Dey (2019).

Type material

Syntype (examined by photograph)

PAKISTAN • 1 ♀; Menserah [Mansehra]; 1–31 Mar. 1906; F. Benton leg.; type no. 23136 ; USNM .

Other material examined

INDIA • 1 ♀; Uttarakhand, Chopta ; 2874 m a.s.l.; 6 Mar. 2021; R.K. Gautam leg.; WII .

PAKISTAN • 4 ♀♀; Azad Kashmir, Paras, Shogran ; 25 May 2019; M. Kafka leg.; OÖLM / TJWC .

Remarks

Andrena subspinigera was described from Mansehra in what is now north-western Pakistan in the foothills of the Himalayas. Cockerell drew comparison with A. spinigera ( Kirby, 1802) [= A. trimmerana ( Kirby, 1802) , see Wood et al. 2022], but considered the two taxa distinct. It was possible to generate a barcode sequence from a specimen collected 40 km north-east of the locus typicus (Shogran). Genetically, A. subspinigera is well differentiated from A. trimmerana , and instead is closest to A. nuptialis Pérez, 1902 ( Fig. 11 ), though is clearly distinct with a genetic distance of 8.50% (range 8.37–8.63%).

It is important to note that the type material of A. subspinigera has the discs of T1–2 almost entirely red-marked, whereas in our examined material, only the marginal areas of T1–2 and a narrow strip immediately anterior to the margins are lightened dull reddish. This is considered to represent variation, as members of the subgenus Hoplandrena Pérez, 1890 are well known for extensive variation in their tergal colouration, leading to the creation of a large number of synonyms (e.g., Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002; Wood et al. 2022; Wood 2023a).

Meena & Dey (2019) listed A. subspinigera from central India, but provided no supporting evidence. We consider the presence of A. subspinigera in central India unlikely, since all confirmed records come from the Himalayas or close to them, and therefore our records represent the first confirmed records of the species in India.

Distribution

India * (Uttarakhand) and Pakistan ( Cockerell 1917).

Figures

Fig. 11. Phylogenetic tree (maximum likelihood) of Andrena subgenus Hoplandrena Pérez, 1890 based on the mitochondrial COI gene. Numbers above branches represent bootstrap support (values of <75 are omitted).