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Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic The family Andrenidae is a large (nearly cosmopolitan (absent in Australia non-parasitic Bee family with most of the diversity in temperate and/or arid areas (warm temperate South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera. Species are often brown to black with whitish abdominal hair bands, though other colors are possible, most commonly reddish, but also including metallic blue or green.
Body length commonly ranges between 8 - 17 mm with males smaller and more slender than females, which often show a black triangle (the "pygidial plate") at the abdominal apex. In temperate areas, Andrena bees (both males and females) emerge from the underground cells where their prepupae spend the winter, when the temperature ranges from about 20°C to 30°C. The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. They mate, and the females then seek sites for their nest burrows, where they construct small cells containing a ball of pollen mixed with nectar, upon which an egg is laid, before each cell is sealed. Andrena usually prefer sandy soils for a nesting substrate, near or under shrubs to be protected from heat and frost.
Andrena females can be readily distinguished from most other small bees by the possession of broad velvety areas in between the compound eyes and the antennal bases, called "facial foveae". Antennae (singular antenna) are paired Appendages connected to the front-most segments of Arthropods In Crustaceans they are They also tend to have very long scopal hairs on the trochanters of the hind leg. The term scopa is used to refer to any of a number of different modifications on the body of a non-parasitic Bee that form a Pollen -carrying apparatus The arthropod leg is a form of jointed Appendage of Arthropods usually used for Walking. Most species also have a well-developed "corbicula", or pollen basket, on the sides of the thorax; it is formed by an outer fringe of hairs and may or may not contain internal hairs.
References
- C. D. Michener (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. Charles Duncan Michener (born September 22, 1918) is an American entomologist born in Pasadena CA.
External links
- http://www.bugguide.net (Search for Andrena or Andrenidae, North American species only).
- Andrena miserabilis diagnostic photographs and information
- Andrena Identification Guide (female)
- Andrena Identification Guide (male)
- List of Species
- Worldwide Species Map
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