''Sphecodes albilabris'' is a solitary parasitic bee that is endemic to Central and Western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. It also occurs in North Africa and is thought to have been introduced to the United States and Australia by accident.

Description

The length of the bee is 11–14 mm.

Range

This species shows a transpalaearctic distribution. It occurs in North Africa from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. In Eurasia it occurs from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

via Europe, Asia Minor,

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific coast of the Far East, reaches the oriental fauna region in northwest India (

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

); north to 60 ° N in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a List of cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of the municipalities of Norway, municipality of Ringerike (municipality), Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østl ...

), 62.5 ° N in Sweden ( Västernorrland), 63.5 ° N in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

(

North Karelia North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finl ...

), in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

and Kirov; south to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The ''ssp. rubripes'' SPINOLA, 1838 occurs in North Africa, Levante, Iberia including the Balearic Islands,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

and Cyprus.

Habitat

Inland dunes, drifting sand fields, sand pits, grasslands, flood dams, mainly in sand but also loess areas. From the lowlands to the montane elevation.

Ecology

It flies from March to October. Females are flying from March to August, males from July to October. The larvae of this species are parasites of ''

Colletes cunicularius ''Colletes cunicularius'', the vernal colletes or spring mining bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Colletidae which is widespread in the Palearctic from Britain to the Pacific Ocean which nests in areas of open, sandy soil. Descri ...

''. The species was also observed in the nests of ''

Halictus sexcinctus ''Halictus sexcinctus'', commonly referred to as the six-banded furrow bee, is a species of sweat bee found throughout Europe and as far east as Asian Turkey and Iraq.The ''H. sexcinctus'' can be easily confused with the closely related species, ...

Halictus quadricinctus The genus ''Halictus'' is a large assemblage of bee species in the family Halictidae. The genus is divided into 15 subgenera, some of dubious monophyly, containing over 200 species, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere (a few species occur in So ...

'' and '' Melitturga clavicornis''.

Etymology

From Latin "albus" = "white" and "labrum" = "lip"; because of the snow-white hairy lower half of the face of the male.

Taxonomy

Synonyms: ''Sphecodes fuscipennis'' (GERMAR, 1819)

References

External links

Wildebijen.nl

''Sphecodes albilabris'' at Fauna Europaea
Halictidae Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1793 {{sweat-bee-stub