Andrena (Micrandrena) cedricola Wood, 2020

Andrena (incertae sedis) cedricola Wood in Wood et al. 2020: 10, ♀ ♂ [Lebanon, RBINS, examined]

Material examined.

GREECE • 1 ♀; Ad Klitoria [Ano Klitoria] - Kalavrita (Pelop.); 21 May 1987; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH • 5 ♀; Erimanthos Mts (Peloponn); 28 May 1987; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH • 2 ♀; Erimanthos Mts (Peloponn); 2 Jun. 1987; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH • 2 ♀; Kalambaka; 17 May 1978; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH; TURKEY • 1 ♀; Abanoz (Rte Anamur), Kazanci; 11–1200 m a. s. l.; 11 May 1991; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH • 1 ♀; Akseki; 1000 m a. s. l.; 5 May 1991; H. Teunissen leg.; RMNH • 6 ♀; Uzuncaburç, 30 km N of Silifke; 28 May 1996; Mi. Halada leg.; OÖLM / TJWC.

Notes.

Rasmont et al. (2017) reported Andrena oedicnema Warncke, 1975 (described from Turkey) for Europe based on the dot maps of Warncke (Gusenleitner and Schwarz 2002) which show a point in central Greece. No precise details for this specimen or specimens have ever been located. Examination of Teunissen material from the RMNH collection unexpectedly produced several specimens of Andrena cedricola, a species that is closely morphologically related to A. oedicnema. This identification is also supported by DNA barcode data (Fig. 31). The sequences from Greece were clustered with a sequence from northern Israel (Mount Hermon), separated by an average genetic distance of 1.32 % (range 0.91–2.13 %). Collectively, the Greek and Israeli sequences of A. cedricola were separated from four Israeli sequences of A. oedicnema by an average genetic distance of 10.37 % (range 8.42–14.42 %). Consequently, due to this high interspecific genetic distance, A. cedricola received bootstrap support of 98 and A. oedicnema received bootstrap support of 99.

After its original description from high-altitude sites in Lebanon and Syria, A. cedricola was recorded from Israel, Turkey, and northern Iraq (see Pisanty et al. 2022 b; Wood et al. 2024 for specimen details). Since then, additional Turkish specimens from central Taurus mountains have been discovered. The records from Greece come from the northern Peloponnese and central Greece, mountainous areas with a faunal affinity with the Taurus mountains (Fig. 32). In this context, the Warncke dot of “ Andrena oedicnema ” from central Greece is considered to belong to A. cedricola which replaces it on the Greek and European list. The precise specimen examined by Warncke may have been one of Teunissen’s specimens from Kalambaka, but this cannot currently be traced or demonstrated.

Distribution.

Greece *, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Iraq (Fig. 32; Wood et al. 2020, 2024; Pisanty et al. 2022 b).