Andrena (Micrandrena) puella Alfken, 1938

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 : 279-281

Andrena (Micrandrena) puella Alfken, 1938 sp. resurr.

Andrena puella Alfken, 1938: 111 , ♀ ♂ [ZMHB: Italy, paratype female and male examined]

Remarks. Alfken (1938) described A. puella from close to Tempio [Tempio Pausania] in northern Sardinia. He also reported a stylopised specimen from Sicily which he designated as a paratype, but this can be ignored due to 1) its stylopised status which renders confident determination impos- sible and 2) its reported large size of 7.5 mm in length which is clearly too large to be conspecific with A. puella which is 5–5.5 mm in length in the male sex. It could be referable to A. distinguenda or A. obsoleta s. str. In the ZMHB, exclud- ing the specimen from Sicily, only two paratypes remain, a male and female ( Fig. 3 ). The two other specimens (the holotype and one paratype) were placed in the collection of Hedicke ( Alfken 1938: 111), but Hedicke’s collection appears to be lost, since none of his specimens or type material of other Andrena species could be found in the ZMHB collection (TJW). Nevertheless, the remaining paratypes are sufficient to allow for recognition of A. puella .

Warncke (1967: 301) mentions A. puella as a distinct species, but took no further action. In his distribution maps (see Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002), he later employed a subspecific categorisation for the taxa around A. distinguenda , e.g. A. d. nitidula in south-western Europe, A. d. puella in Sardinia and Sicily. Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002) consequently listed A. puella as a possible synonym of A. distinguenda . Burger & Herrmann (2003) revised members of the A. distinguenda group, and whilst they concluded that A. distinguenda and A. nitidula were distinct, they did not draw firm conclusions as to the identity of A. puella due to low numbers of specimens, though they did inspect the type series in the ZMHB.

Examination of material from Sardinia and Corsica, some of it collected relatively recently, shows that A. puella is clearly distinct from A. distinguenda . In the female sex, apart from the consistently smaller size (6 mm versus 7–8 mm), A. puella can be separated by the comparatively weaker clypeal striations ( Figs 4A–B ), by the fine and weakly raised longitudinal striations covering the frons, these giving a smooth uniform appearance without any individual striation standing out ( Figs 4C–D ; in A. distinguenda with the frons covered with stronger and coarser raised striations, medially with a thickened longitudinal carina that contrasts the remaining raised striations), by the shorter apical tergal hairbands of T2–4, these short and not greatly exceeding the apex of the marginal areas ( Figs 4E–F ; in A. distinguenda with the apical tergal hairbands long and clearly projecting far beyond the apex of the marginal areas), by the shagreened and almost impunctate tergal discs, basolateral punctures of T2–4 obscure and disappearing into the underlying shagreen ( Figs 4E–F ; in A. distinguenda with the basolateral punctures of T2–4 distinct, clearly visible against the weakly shining underlying sculpture), and by the shorter ocelloccipital distance ( Fig. 4G–H ; 0.5 times the diameter of a lateral ocellus versus 0.9–1 times the diameter of a lateral ocellus). Males can also be recognised by the same characters. We therefore consider A. puella to be a valid species, and include it as part of the Italian fauna.

Material examined.

FRANCE: 1♀, CORSICA, Bonifacio , 17 May 1896, leg. C. Ferton ( MNHN) ; 1♂, CORSICA, Bonifacio , 16 May 1901, leg. C. Ferton ( MNHN) . ITALY: SARDINIA: 1♂, 1♀, Tempio (SS), 12–16 May 1933, leg. H.G. Amsel ( ZMHB) (paratypes) ; 4♀, Bosa env. ( OR) , 20 May 2013, leg. J. Halada (OÖLM/ TJWC) ; 1♀, Sant’Antioco (CI), Mala- droxia, 23 May 2013, leg. J. Halada ( OÖLM) ; 1♀, Lanusei env. ( NU) , 29 Jun 2000, leg. J. Halada ( OÖLM) ; 1♂, NW, 30 km W Sassari , 19 May 2013, leg. J. Halada, ( TJWC) ; 2♀, 5♂, Buggerru, Canyon Gutturu Cardaxius , 19 Apr 2017, leg. J. Litman & C. Praz ( CPC) .

Distribution. France ( Corsica) and Italy (Sardinia).

Figures

Fig. 3 - Andrena puella Alfken, 1938, paratype female. A, label details; B, profile; C, face, frontal view; D, terga, dorsal view.

Fig. 4 - Andrena distinguenda Schenck, 1871, female. A, face, frontal view; C, frons, dorsolateral view; E, terga, dorsal view; G, vertex, dorsolateral view; Andrena puella Alfken, 1938, female. B, face, frontal view; D, frons, dorsolateral view; F, terga, dorsal view; H, vertex, dorsolateral view.