Andrena ( Micrandrena ) proxima ( Kirby, 1802 )

Pisanty, Gideon, Santerre, Rémi, Martin, Teresa, Cardinal, Sophie & Wood, Thomas J., 2025, Integrated taxonomic revision of the mining bee subgenus Andrena (Micrandrena) (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in the Levant and Cyprus, Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 83, pp. 573-655 : 573-655

3.1.4.4. Andrena ( Micrandrena) proxima ( Kirby, 1802)

Figures 14 C, H, M , 19 A, M

Melitta proxima Kirby, 1802 (nec Andrena proxima Smith 1847 ): 146–147, ♀ [ England: NHMUK].

Melitta digitalis Kirby, 1802: 159–160, ♀ [ England: NHMUK].

Andrena aspericollis Pérez, 1895: 37, ♀ ♂ [ Algeria: MNHN].

Distribution and habitat.

Broadly across the Western Palaearctic, but excluding the most Atlantic parts, mostly in mesic habitats ( McLaughlin et al. 2022). In the Levant *, limited to mountains in Lebanon *.

Flight period.

In Europe: one generation, mid-April to late June.

Flower preferences.

Broadly oligolectic on Apiaceae . Also visits Asteraceae , Brassicaceae , Campanulaceae and Euphorbiaceae ( Westrich 1989; IUCN 2024).

Material examined.

LEBANON ● 2 ♀; Mount Lebanon Governorate, Kesrouane, Jabal Moussa Biosphere Res.; 1400 m a. s. l.; 14 May 2023; V. Soon leg.; TUZ 341642 ● 1 ♂; Mount Lebanon Governorate, Kesrouane, Jabal Moussa Biosphere Res., Mchati; 1100 m a. s. l.; 15 May 2023; V. Soon leg.; TUZ 343915.

Figures

Figure 14. Andrena (Micrandrena) females, clypei (A – F), scuta and scutella (G – J), facial foveae (K – L), propodeal corbiculae (M) and metasomae (N – P). A, G, N A. yelkouan; B, K A. pandosa; C, H, M A. proxima; D, O A. dividicincta; E, I, P A. oedicnema; F, J A. cedricola; L A. extenuata.

Figure 19. Andrena (Micrandrena) males, scuta and scutella (A – C), clypei (D – E) and genitalia (F – P). A, M A. proxima; B, O A. oedicnema; C, P A. cedricola; D, F A. pandosa; E, H A. longibarbis; G A. decollata; I A. govinda; J A. leptura; K A. mariana; L A. kugleri; N A. dividicincta.