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Species Andrena erigeniae - Spring Beauty Mining Bee

Representative Images

Spring Beauty Andrena - Andrena erigeniae Spring Beauty Andrena - Andrena erigeniae Andrenid bee on Claytonia virginica - Andrena erigeniae miner bee – genus Andrena? - Andrena erigeniae - female Andrena on spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) - Andrena erigeniae - female Andrena erigeniae? - Andrena erigeniae Andrena erigeniae? on Claytonia virginica - Andrena erigeniae Bee - Andrena erigeniae

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
No Taxon (Apoidea (clade Anthophila) - Bees)
Family Andrenidae (Miner, Fairy, Allied Panurgine, and Oxaeine Bees)
Subfamily Andreninae (Mining Bees)
Genus Andrena
No Taxon (Subgenus Ptilandrena)
Species erigeniae (Spring Beauty Mining Bee)

Explanation of Names

Author: Robertson, 1891. Named for a plant other than its pollen host.

Size

Female 8 mm, male 7-8 mm

Identification

Male S8 distinctively bifurcating at its apex.

Facial foveae thin. Host plant has pink pollen.

Range

Minnesota to New York, south to North Carolina and Georgia.
Discover Life Map

Season

March to May.

Food

It is an oligolege of spring beauties Claytonia including C. virginica despite being named for a different plant Erigenia, often found near spring beauties. The Hosts section on its Discover Life species page lists known floral associations based on specimen records and images.

Remarks

Visits flowers of Claytonia virginica and other Claytonia spp. for pollen. It also visits Erigenia bulbosa and other flowers for nectar.

Print References

Davis, L. W., and W. E. LaBerge. 1975. The nest biology of the bee Andrena (Ptilandrena) erigeniae Robertson (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae). Illinois Natural History Survey Biological Notes no. 95: 16 pp.

Internet References

Discover Life
EoL
U.Illinois
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 20 April, 2009 - 7:09pm
Additional contributions by John S. Ascher, hg, PaleoJon, Nathaniel Green
Last updated 16 March, 2022 - 11:44pm

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