Perdita (Cockerellia) moldenkei Timberlake, 1980

Portman, Zachary M. & Griswold, Terry, 2017, Review of PerditasubgenusProcockerellia Timberlake (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae) and the first Perdita gynandromorph, ZooKeys 712, pp. 87-111 : 101

Perdita (Cockerellia) moldenkei Timberlake, 1980

Perdita (Procockerellia) moldenkei Timberlake, 1980: 14, ♂. Holotype male: USA, California, San Diego Co., Ocotillo-Borrego area, 27 March 1972, J.L. Neff, at nectaries of Encelia farinosa [CAS type no. 14614]. Examined.

Remarks.

Timberlake’s description of P. moldenkei reports the lone type specimen as having five maxillary palpi. However, examination of the type reveals that the specimen clearly has six maxillary palpi on both sides. Timberlake must have miscounted the number of maxillary palpi and described P. moldenkei in the incorrect subgenus as a result.

Perdita moldenkei is clearly a member of subgenus Cockerellia , and is hereby moved to that subgenus. Based on the examination of the type of P. moldenkei , we believe that it is a likely synonym of P. verbesinae Cockerell, 1896. However, we have not examined the various syntypes and varieties of P. verbesinae in order to confirm this; examination of the syntypes of P. verbesinae should be addressed in a broader revision of Cockerellia .