Protandrena Cognata

''Protandrena'' is a genus of mining bees in the family Andrenidae. Depending upon whose definition of the genus one follows, there are anywhere from 50 to 180 described species in ''Protandrena''; traditional classifications recognize 7 subgenera, some of which are sometimes elevated to genus rank, and other classifications place many of these species in the related genus '' Pseudopanurgus'' (e.g.), leaving ''Protandrena'' with a much smaller constituency.DiscoverLife: ''Protandrena''
/ref> In the most inclusive definition, they are found from Canada through Argentina. However, there is current disagreement whether the ''Protandrena'' in South America belong to different genera, in which case the genus extends only as far south as Panama. They are solitary bees, but some species nest in aggregations. They prefer to nest in sunny areas with sparse vegetation. The underground nests have cells lined with a chemical substance. This "wallpaper" acts as a barrier between fungi and bacteria. The eggs hatch, the larvae develop, and then overwinter as mature larvae with hardened skin. They are primarily active from May to October, but have been noted to be active in April in the region six of the United States.

There are specialists and generalist found in the genus ''Protandrena''. One notable specialist is ''Protandrena'' ''abdominalis'', whom specializes on ''Monarda'' (bee balm).

cuckoo bees in the genus '' Holcopasites'' have been found as nest parasites of ''Protandrena.''

Morphology

''Protandrena'' are typically slender black bees. They frequently have yellow on the face and pronotum. They may have red on the metasoma. They rarely have a green or blue tint. The forewings will have two or three submarginal cells. The photo to the right shows submarginal cells (on ''Lasioglossum''). The three submarginal cells are near the top of the wing.

Other Identifying characteristics include

* middle tibial spur on the female that is finely toothed basally and becomes coarser distally; an exception to this is the South American subgenus ''Austropanurgus'', where the spur is finely toothed throughout.
* The male's last abdominal sternum has a pair of large distal lobes that are constricted at the base.
* The gonostyli are more than half as long as the gonocoxites, with the apices articulated or partly fused. The South American subgenus ''Parasarus'' is an exception to this, with the gonostyli being less than 1/3 as long as the gonocoxites.

Etymology

''Protandrena'' means "basic ''Andrena''". This is referring to the facial similarities to ''Andrena''

Selected species

* '' Protandrena abdominalis'' (Cresson, 1878) ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena amplipennis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena angusticeps'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena avulsa'' Ramos & Melo, 2006 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena bachue'' Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena bancrofti'' Dunning, 1897 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena bicolor'' (Timberlake, 1955) ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena bishoppi'' Crawford, 1916 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena blandula'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena boharti'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena cockerelli'' Dunning, 1897 ^{i c g b}
* '' Protandrena cognata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena duplonotata'' (Timberlake, 1955) ^{i c}
* '' Protandrena durangoensis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena eclepta'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena euphorbiae'' (Timberlake, 1955) ^{i c}
* '' Protandrena exigua'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena fasciata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena foveata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena guarnensis'' Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena heteromorpha'' (Cockerell, 1896) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena hurdi'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena impressa'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena irwini'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena kansensis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena lateralis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena leucopus'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena lipovskyi'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena maculata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena marstoni'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena maurula'' (Cockerell, 1896) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena maximina'' Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena metanotalis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena mexicanorum'' (Cockerell, 1896) ^{i c g b}
* '' Protandrena modesta'' (Smith, 1879) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena nudescens'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena pectidis'' (Timberlake, 1955) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena pernitens'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena persimilis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena polita'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena protuberata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena punctulata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena rangeli'' Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena scutellata'' Cockerell, 1916 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena semilevis'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena skinneri'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena sorocula'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena sphaeralceae'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena swenki'' Crawford, 1913 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena tessellata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* ''Protandrena texana'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena tidestromiae'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena trifoliata'' (Cockerell, 1896) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena trilobata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena unimaculata'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena verbesinae'' (Timberlake, 1955) ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena wayruronga'' Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007 ^{i c g}
* '' Protandrena xestops'' Timberlake, 1976 ^{i c g}

Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q14491017

Andrenidae
Bee genera
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