Species Andrena carlini - Carlinville Miner Bee

Andrena interrogationis_homonym Viereck and Cockerell, 1914

Andrena viereckella Viereck and Cockerell, 1914

Andrena (Cryptandrena) carlini Cockerell, 1901

Andrena (Bythandrena) carlini Cockerell, 1901

Andrena (Bythandrena) carlini neorhodura Mitchell, 1960

Author of species is Cockerell, 1901.

Name references namesake of type locality: Carlinville, Illinois

Female: 14 mm. Male 11 mm.

Very similar to vicina which also has a black tibial scopa. In carlini the thoracic hair is longer, denser, and grayer (as opposed to shorter, sparser so as not to fully obscure integument, and more tan in color in vicina). A. carlini and regularis, unlike vicina, have black hairs on the side and venter of the thorax, extending dorsally to just behind the wing bases. This black hair can be hard to see in images, and if this is not noted carlini/regularis can easily be mistaken for vicina. In specimens note the broader impunctate medial line of the clypeus in carlini. A. carlini is very similar to regularis but regularis has a much narrower, acute pygidial plate, and the clypeus lacks an impunctate median line. At present it is probably not feasible to separate carlini from regularis based on images alone in northern areas where these cooccur (carlini can be safely det. to the southern areas where regularis is unrecorded).

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Minnesota and Ontario, east to the New England states and Nova Scotia, south to Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina.

March to August

Visits flowers from several families. The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images.

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