Fabaceae-specialist
Guides
Andrena wilkella
Wilke's Mining Bee, Wilke's Mining-bee
Andrena wilkella is a solitary mining bee in the family Andrenidae. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to North America, possibly via ship ballast. It is active from April to August and nests both singly and in aggregations. The species shows strong pollen specialization on Fabaceae, particularly clover and sweet clover.
Arytaina genistae
Broom Psyllid
Arytaina genistae, commonly known as the Broom Psyllid, is a jumping plant louse in the family Psyllidae. The species is native to Europe and has been introduced to North America, where it has become established across much of the United States. It is associated with brooms (Genista and Cytisus species) as its host plants. The species is of interest both as a potential biological control agent for invasive brooms and as a pest of ornamental and cultivated broom species.
Calliopsis andreniformis
Eastern Miner Bee
Calliopsis andreniformis, commonly known as the eastern miner bee, is a solitary ground-nesting bee in the family Andrenidae. It is native to North America and has been documented as a specialist pollinator of plants in the family Fabaceae. The species belongs to a genus of small mining bees that typically nest in sandy or bare soils. Like other members of Andrenidae, females construct individual burrows and provision cells with pollen and nectar for their offspring.
Hadronema militare
Hadronema militare is a univoltine orthotyline plant bug that completes its entire nymphal development, reproduction, and oviposition before mid-summer host senescence. It is specialized on herbaceous legumes in the subfamily Faboideae, particularly lupine (Lupinus) and goldenbanner (Thermopsis). The species overwinters as eggs and has been documented across western North America from low to mid-elevations.
Hypera nigrirostris
lesser clover leaf weevil, black-beaked green weevil
Hypera nigrirostris, commonly known as the lesser clover leaf weevil, is a small curculionid beetle native to Europe and northern Africa that has been introduced to North America and Japan. It is a specialized herbivore of leguminous plants, particularly red clover (Trifolium pratense), and has become a significant agricultural pest in red clover seed production systems where larval feeding can reduce yields by up to 50%.
Megabruchidius
Megabruchidius is a genus of seed beetles in the subfamily Bruchinae (Chrysomelidae), established by Borowiec in 1984. The genus comprises Asian species that have become invasive in Europe, North America, South America, and South Africa. At least two species are well-documented: M. dorsalis and M. tonkineus, both specialized feeders on seeds of Gleditsia (honey locusts) and related Caesalpinioideae legumes. These beetles complete their entire larval development inside seeds, emerging as adults through exit holes. The genus has attracted significant research attention due to its economic impact as a pest of ornamental and forestry trees, its expanding host range in introduced regions, and its potential use as a biological control agent for invasive honey locust.
Megalurothrips
bean flower thrips, oriental bean thrips, Asian bean thrips
Megalurothrips is a genus of thrips in family Thripidae, established by Bagnall in 1915. The genus contains approximately 15 described species distributed across the Old World and Australia. The most economically significant species, Megalurothrips usitatus, is a major pest of leguminous crops, particularly cowpea, soybean, and common bean, causing damage to flowers and developing pods. Several species have been introduced beyond their native ranges, with M. usitatus recently detected in the Americas.