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Iberia has one of the richest bee faunas in the world, and the genus Andrena is no exception with around 200 species known from the Peninsula. The fauna of Andrena was largely revised in the 1970s, but since then, it has received little attention. Molecular investigation of the taxonomically challenging subgenus Taeniandrena has revealed that the situation is more complicated than previously thought with several cryptic and overlooked species. From the species allied to Andrena (T. ) gelriae van der Vecht, 1927, Andrena (T. ) gredana Warncke, 1975 stat. nov. from Spain and Portugal is raised to species status, and Andrena (T. ) levante Wood & Praz sp. nov. from southeastern Spain is newly described. Furthermore, Andrena (T. ) benoisti Wood & Praz sp. nov. is described, having previously been referred to as Andrena (T. ) wilkella beaumonti Benoist, 1961. Andrena (T. ) beaumonti stat. rev. is itself distinct and restricted to the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Outside of the subgenus Taeniandrena, Andrena (Euandrena) fortipunctata Wood sp. nov. and Andrena (Charitandrena) hattorfiana nigricauda Wood subsp. nov. are described from Spain, and Andrena (Notandrena) juliana Wood sp. nov. is described from Spain and Portugal. The male of Andrena (Lepidandrena) baetica Wood, 2020 is also described. Andrena (Euandrena) impressa Warncke, 1967 stat. nov. is raised to species status, displaying a West Mediterranean distribution. Finally, a further two species of Andrena are newly recorded for Spain, Andrena laurivora Warncke, 1974 and Andrena confinis Stoeckhert, 1930. Altogether, these findings reinforce the fact that our understanding of the taxonomy and distribution of Andrena in southern Europe remains incomplete.
Iran is a huge but understudied Middle Eastern country with a rich but chronically understudied bee fauna, including for the highly-speciose bee genus Andrena. Examination of unidentified museum material combined with recent field collections and a critical review of the literature has revealed a total of 197 species of Andrena in the Iranian fauna, of which 65 are newly reported for the country, with an additional 16 species new for science. Andrena (Aciandrena) deminuta Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Euandrena) boustaniae Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Euandrena) oblata sp. nov., Andrena (Euandrena) sani sp. nov., Andrena (Micrandrena) elam Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Micrandrena) subviridula Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Notandrena) idigna Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Planiandrena) flagrans Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Planiandrena) sella Wood sp. nov., Andrena (Ulandrena) bulbosa Wood sp. nov., Andrena (incertae sedis) hosseiniiae Wood & Monfared sp. nov., and Andrena (incertae sedis) rostamiae sp. nov. are described from Iran, Andrena (Micrandrena) extenuata sp. nov. is described from Iran and Syria, Andrena (Micrandrena) tabula Wood sp. nov. and Andrena (Micrandrena) obsidiana Wood sp. nov. are described from Iran and Turkey, and Andrena (Planiandrena) huma sp. nov. is described from Iran, Syria, and the Golan Heights. Eight taxa are synonymised (valid name first): Andrena (Melandrena) assimilis Radoszkowski, 1876 = Andrena (Melandrena) gallica Schmiedeknecht, 1883 syn. nov.; Andrena (Notandrena) emesiana Pérez, 1911 stat. resurr. = Andrena (Notandrena) recurvirostra Warncke, 1975 syn. nov.; Andrena (Plastandrena) eversmanni Radoszkowski, 1867 = Andrena (Plastandrena) peshinica Nurse, 1904 syn. nov.; Andrena (incertae sedis) hieroglyphica Morawitz, 1876 = Andrena (Carandrena) cara Nurse, 1904 syn. nov. and Andrena (Carandrena) halictoides Nurse, 1904 syn. nov.; Andrena (Melandrena) induta Morawitz, 1894 = Andrena (Melandrena) patella Nurse, 1903 syn. nov.; Andrena (incertae sedis) minor Warncke, 1975 stat. nov. = Andrena (Carandrena) splendula Osytshnjuk, 1984 syn. nov.; Andrena (Notandrena) zostera Warncke, 1975 = Andrena (Carandrena) subsmaragdina Osytshnjuk, 1984 syn. nov. Overall, these results considerably improve our understanding of the Iranian Andrena fauna, and suggest that overall bee diversity in this country is substantially more than 1000 species.