Andrena (Melandrena) soror Dours, 1872

Fig. 9

Andrena (Melandrena) soror Dours, 1872: 419, ♀ (Spain: OÖLM, neotype by present designation; Fig. 9A–D).

Material examined

Neotype

SPAIN • ♀; Madrid, 6 km N of Chinchón, M-311; 40.1800° N, 3.4465° W; 14 May 2021; T.J. Wood leg.; OÖLM.

Other material (illustrative)

MOROCCO • 1 ♀; Midelt; 25 May 1947; J. de Beaumont leg.; MNHN.

SPAIN • 1 ♀; Montarco; 10 May 1933; J.M. Dusmet and Alonso leg.; OÖLM.

TURKEY • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Hakkâri, Suvari Halil-Pass; 2500 m a.s.l.; 2 Jun. 1980; M. Schwarz leg.; OÖLM.

Remarks

Dours (1872) described A. soror from Algeria and Spain. The identity of this species has been clear, but as Dours’ collection is destroyed, there is the potential for taxonomic instability due to the lack of type material. Andrena soror is a rare species found in steppe environments in Spain, Morocco, and Turkey (Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002). However, it has not been confidently recorded from Algeria, as this country mostly lacks the dry steppe environments favoured by A. soror. It is not clear whether Dours was using a broad concept of ‘Algeria’ that could have applied to other parts of north-western Africa, or whether he misidentified specimens, as is suspected for A. griseobalteata Dours, 1872, which was described from France and Algeria but is not known from North Africa. Following the neotype designation for A. griseobalteata using material from France (Wood 2023), a neotype is here designated for A. soror using Spanish material in order to decisively fix the concept of this taxon in line with its current usage (Fig. 9). Andrena soror has therefore not reliably been recorded from the Algerian fauna.

Distribution

Spain, Morocco, Turkey (Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002).