Abstract
The East Himalaya is one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. However, very little is known about the abundance and distribution of many plant and animal taxa in this region. Bumble bees are a group of cold-adapted and high elevation insects that fulfil an important ecological and economical function as pollinators of wild and agricultural flowering plants and crops. The Himalayan mountain range provides ample suitable habitats for bumble bees. Systematic study of Himalayan bumble bees began a few decades ago and the main focus has centred on the western region, while the eastern part of the mountain range has received little attention and only a few species have been verified. During a three-year survey, more than 700 bumble bee specimens of 21 species were collected in Arunachal Pradesh, the largest of the north-eastern states of India. The material included a range of species that were previously known from a limited number of collected specimens, which highlights the unique character of the East Himalayan ecosystem. Our results are an important first step towards a future assessment of species distribution, threat, and conservation. Clear elevation patterns of species diversity were observed, which raise important questions about the functional adaptations that allow bumble bees to thrive in this particularly moist region in the East Himalaya.
Highlights
Bumble bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus Latreille) are a group of conspicuous, large and colourful bees that mainly inhabit cold and temperate habitats at high latitudes and elevations
Climate change poses a threat to many bumble bee species worldwide, especially those adapted to high elevations, due to an ongoing decline of suitable habitats (Hoiss et al 2012, Kerr et al 2015, Rasmont et al 2015)
The sampled region covers most of the state Arunachal Pradesh, and the least amount of sampling was carried out in the eastern-most region (Fig. 1B)
Summary
Bumble bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Bombus Latreille) are a group of conspicuous, large and colourful bees that mainly inhabit cold and temperate habitats at high latitudes and elevations Their conspicuous appearance and abundance established them a prime object of study for numerous early naturalists and insect collectors. Current global sampling efforts focus on revising the bumble bee taxonomy at the subgeneric level and filling in blank spots in global distribution data for a worldwide IUCN red list assessment of all species (http://iucn.org/bumblebees). The latter is urgently needed, since a number of bumble bee species have recently shown dramatic declines in their abundance and range (Cameron et al 2011). Climate change poses a threat to many bumble bee species worldwide, especially those adapted to high elevations, due to an ongoing decline of suitable habitats (Hoiss et al 2012, Kerr et al 2015, Rasmont et al 2015)
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