7. Andrena (Euandrena) communis Smith, 1879

Andrena communis Smith, 1879: 50, ♀ [India: Uttarakhand, NHMUK, examined].

Andrena maligna Cameron 1897: 114, ♂ [India: Uttarakhand, OUMNH, not examined].

Listed by

Smith (1878); Bingham (1897); Cameron (1897); Meena & Dey (2019); Ascher & Pickering (2023).

Material examined

INDIA • 1 ♀; Masuri [= Mussoorie]; 7000 ft a.s.l.; NHMUK (holotype of A. communis) • 1 ♀; Uttarakhand, Kanda Village; 30.4987° N, 79.1457° E; 1920 m a.s.l.; 7 Apr. 2022; R.K. Gautam leg.; WII • 1 ♀; Uttarakhand, Trijuginarayan; 30.6365° N, 78.9688° E; 2418 m a.s.l.; 2 Jun. 2022; R.K. Gautam leg.; WII • 1 ♂; Uttarakhand, Hudu; 30.5044° N, 79.1504° E; 1800 m a.s.l.; 19 Nov. 2019; R.K. Gautam leg.; WII .

PAKISTAN • 1 ♀; Azad Kashmir, Paras, Shogran; 25 May 2019; M. Kafka leg.; BOLD: WPATW979-23; TJWC • 1 ♀; Hazara, Kawai, Shogran; 14 May 1978; C. Holzschuh leg.; OÖLM .

Remarks

Smith (1879) described A. communis from Masuri [= Mussoorie] in Uttarakhand, and Cameron (1897) described A. maligna from Mussouri [= Mussoorie] as well. Cameron (1897: 114) wrote that his species could “hardly be the ♂ of A. communis ” but Bingham (1897: 443) nevertheless synonymised the two species, without any justification.The type material of A. maligna is in the Rothney Collection (OUMNH), but is not currently available for study. This synonymy is maintained pending further investigations, though it is plausible given that the two taxa share the same locus typicus. As discussed above, the specimen labelled as “ Andrena familiaris (Type) Sm.” in the NHMUK collection is considered to be the holotype of A. communis .

Distribution

India (Uttarakhand) and Pakistan *.