Andrena (Suandrena) savignyi Spinola, 1838

Fig. 8

Andrena (Suandrena) savignyi Spinola, 1838: 512, ♀ (Egypt: MRSN, lectotype by present designation; Fig. 8A–D).

Remarks

This species is very widely distributed across dry places in the southern Palaearctic. It is beneficial to recognise the type material of Spinola. In contrast to A rutila and A. ephippium, three specimens are conserved in the Spinola collection under A. savignyi . Two of them, however, are female Melitta aegyptiaca (Radoszkowski, 1891), a species that is superficially similar due to its red-marked T1–2. Fortunately, the third specimen is a female A. savignyi (Fig. 8A–D). Spinola’s description (Spinola 1838) is ambiguous, and mostly covers the colouration of the pubescence and the body, and is hence ambiguous and could refer to either species. The Andrena specimen is therefore designated as a lectotype to ensure the correct application of this name by future workers, and to conserve the name M. aegyptiaca in its current sense.

Distribution

Palaearctic, from the Canary Islands to northern India (Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002).