Abstract ID: 3.10587 | Reviewing | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

The Himalayas is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots of the world which is home to an exotic range of flora and fauna. Present study has been conducted in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand state located in the foothills of Western Himalayas, to assess the diversity and foraging behaviour of bumblebees along the altitudinal gradient of 500- 2500m amsl. Bumblebees are one of the most significant pollinators of high altitude regions due to their thermoregulatory ability and large pollen carrying capacity and can forage efficiently in regions where other pollinators cannot forage well. Four species were recorded from the study area viz. Bombus haemorrhoidalis, Bombus rotundiceps, Bombus flavescens and Bombus trifasciatus. Bombus haemorrhoidalis was the predominant species recorded at all altitudes whereas B. rotundiceps was recorded at 900m, B. flavescens at 2200m and B. trifasciatus was recorded at 1600m amsl. Study was conducted in four habitat zones i.e. agriculture fields, riverine forest, urban and mixed forest areas and showed that bumblebees prefer agriculture fields for foraging as compared to other habitat zones. Bumblebees are generalist forager and their most preferable plant families in the study area includes Asteraceae, Berberidaceae, Bignoneaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Ericaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, Solanaceae, Tropaeolaceae and Verbenaceae.. With global climate change and urbanization their number is declining very rapidly and some species are even critically endangered in some regions of the world. Due to climate shift the flowering pattern is also changing which leaves these bees without or less food and therefore they are forced to migrate to much higher altitudes posing a threat to the native bees of those regions for food and sustainability. Globally a lot of efforts are being done by different researchers and scientists for their conservation and citizen science is one such effective approach in which local people and communities are involved for bumblebee conservation.