Peponapis (Peponapis) pruinosa (Say, 1837)

Peponapis (Peponapis) pruinosa (Say, 1837) View in CoL

Pruinose Squash Bee

Notes: Dorchin et al. (2018) proposed a broad concept of Eucera that includes squash bees whereas Freitas et al. (2023) recognized the latter as comprising a single genus Xenoglossa . However, here we choose to retain Peponapis as valid pending further phylogenetic study, in particular improved resolution of New World species that have been included in Tetraloniella (Michener, 2007) or Xenoglossodes (Hurd, 1979) . Stoner (2020) studied pollination of pumpkin and winter squash in Connecticut and found that the three primary bee species visiting these crops, P. pruinosa , B. impatiens , and A. mellifera , together provided sufficient pollination services for full fruit set and yield across a wide range of farms with different practices. The relative contribution of these species varied widely, however, among different farms, and even from year to year at the same farm. Although there were indications that the numbers of P. pruinosa visiting these crops were declining over the four years of the study (Stoner 2020), calculations made using Tefler et al. (2002) show that the relative range of this species in Connecticut is stable and/or increasing.