Andrena scotica
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Andrena scotica | ||||||||||||
| Perkins , 1916 |
Andrena scotica (also known as the Scottish earth bee ) is a communal wild bee fromthe sand bee family .
features
The animals show a significant sexual dimorphism , as is mostly the case with bees.
female
With 12-14 mm, the females are about the same size as honey bees . They are also colored similar to honeybees. They have brown hair all over their bodies. The abdomen is moderately hairy and has weak, light-colored bands on the tergith posterior margins . The legs are generally dark, but the ventral half of the hind legs ( scopae ) is light, often almost white.
male
At 11–13 mm, the males are only slightly smaller than the females, but they are significantly slimmer. They are light brown haired and their mandibles slightly elongated. Their dark, slim abdomen is only sparsely hairy, especially on the rear half.
Similar species
- Females resemble several other brownish, medium-sized species, notably A. trimmerana and A. rosaea . Many other candidates for confusion have different colored scopae. Some of the similar species also have reddish markings on the abdomen that are not found in A. scotica .
- The males are very similar to several other male sand bees. Detailed considerations are necessary for a reliable determination - this applies to both genders.
Occurrence
The animals are mainly found in Western and Central Europe. In the north their distribution extends to Finland, in the south to Italy. In the east they can be found up to about the Urals and Northern Iran. In Germany it is the most common among the similar brown medium-sized sand bees in most areas.
Way of life
Andrena scotica forms one generation per year ( univoltin ) and flies from around April to June. The males appear and perish a little earlier than the females. They are polylectic , so they visit many different species of plants. They build their nests in the ground, also under solid structures such as stones, and occasionally also on buildings. The animals often live communally: several not necessarily related females live in the same nest and dig their own chambers for their brood. The size of such communal nests can be hundreds of animals under favorable conditions. In spring, when the animals hatch, many males mate with the females that hatch a little later in the nest.
Parasites
Nomada flava and Nomada marshamella are breeding parasites in Andrena scotica. Satellite flies from the genus Leucophora are also possible parasites on the nests. Andrena scotica are also attacked by fan-winged birds from the genus Stylops .
Taxonomy
The bee is also called Andrena carantonica (Pérez 1902). This name is very common and is still used in recent publications. It is probably invalid because the type specimen was wrongly determined for it. In fact, Pérez's specimen is probably the very similar bivoltine A. trimmerana. Further clarification of the situation remains to be seen, so far it is unclear which name will prevail.
Another quite common name is A. sabulosa (Scopoli 1763). The specimen described by Scopoli is lost and the description is not clear enough to identify the species. It's a noun dubium .
swell
F. Gusenleitner & M. Schwarz: Worldwide checklist of the bee genus Andrena with remarks and additions to Palearctic species (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Andreninae, Andrena). Ansfelden 2002, PDF on ZOBODAT
literature
RJ Paxton, PF Kukuk, J. Tengö: Effects of familiarity and nestmate number on social interactions in two communal bees, Andrena scotica and Panurgus calcaratus (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae). In: Insectes Sociaux. Vol. 46, 1999, pp. 109-118.
