Colletes aestivalis Patton 1879

Colletes aestivalis Patton, 1879: 142. (Connecticut holotype). Holotype. Female USA: Connecticut: New Haven Co., 12 July [1878 or before], W. H. Patton, ex Heuchera americana (lost; replaced by a neotype from Maryland in USNM) Notes: Connecticut is the type locality of this oligolege of alumroot (Heuchera sp.) (Robertson 1895); however, the type was lost and, in the absence of available Connecticut material, a female from Maryland was designated as the neotype by Stephen (1954). Colletes aestivalis has not been detected in Connecticut since its description in 1879 and there is only one undated historical record for Masaschusetts (Veit et al. 2022[“2021”]). The historical range of C. aestivalis extends up the eastern coast of the United States from Georgia to Massachusetts, and west to Illinois (Mitchell 1960) and Missouri. There have been few recent records of this species in the Northeastern United States, however the paucity of records may be due to lack of targeted collecting on its native host plant. It has been recorded recently in specialized habitat in the Mid-Atlantic region and in the western portion of its range (e.g., Missouri, see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/139493810).