Information: Stenoria analis was described by Schaum in 1859 originally as Sitaris analis.
Stenoria analis is a rare species throughout its entire distribution range.
The elytra are yellow, with a more or less extensive black apex. The pronotum is sculptured, featuring a longitudinal median keel, a transverse depression in the anterior third, and two rounded, smooth, and elevated lateral swellings in the posterior half. The punctation is deep and dense, especially noticeable on the second and third abdominal sternites of the male, which are densely punctate and setose (hairy) in the middle. The head and pronotum are always black or dark brown, without yellow spots. The anterior angles of the pronotum are distinctly marked.
The blister beetle Stenoria analis exhibits a remarkable parasitic strategy involving sexual deception of its host, the solitary bee Colletes hederae. In western France, researchers observed that newly hatched triungulin larvae of S. analis form stationary aggregations near bee nesting sites. These clusters emit olfactory cues that attract patrolling male bees, who mistake them for emerging virgin females and attempt pseudocopulation. During these encounters, larvae attach themselves to the males’ thoraces. This phoretic transfer allows the larvae to ultimately reach the bees’ nests, where they develop further. This is the first documented case of such sexual deception between blister beetle larvae and wild bees in the West-Palaearctic, highlighting a highly specialized form of cleptoparasitism mediated by chemical mimicry.
Body length: 7 - 10 mm
Peak activity: July ~ September (depends on region)
Remarks: Stenoria analis is a thermo- and xerophilous species, meaning it prefers sunny, warm habitats with sandy or sandy-loamy soils. It typically inhabits open steppe-like environments, dry grasslands, forest edges, sunny slopes, and stony field margins, where its host bees are also likely to nest.
The host bee Colletes hederae has been rapidly expanding its range northward and westward across Europe since the late 1990s, and consequently Stenoria analis may also be extending its distribution alongside it. Both species primarily inhabit coastal and warmer lowland areas with an abundance of ivy (Hedera helix), which serves as the main food source for the bees. The distribution of S. analis closely overlaps with that of C. hederae, as it is parasitically dependent on this host.
Distribution: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic ??, France, Germany, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey
Taxonomic classification:
Material examined (& observation):
Our observation period: July ~ August
Sampling Methods: on bush and flowers 
Slovakia
