Zygacine-tolerance
Guides
Andrena astragali
Death Camas Mining Bee, Death Camas Bee, Death Camas Andrena
Andrena astragali is a solitary mining bee in the family Andrenidae, native to North America. It is remarkable for its specialized association with highly toxic plants in the genus Toxicoscordion (death camas), whose alkaloid zygacine is lethal to most other bees. The species was first described in 1914 from a specimen collected on Astragalus in Nebraska, though its primary host plants were later discovered to be Toxicoscordion species. It is considered the only bee species known to tolerate death camas toxins, making it a unique example of pollinator-plant coevolution involving chemical defense.