New honeybee species, endemic to Western Ghats, found
Context
A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats.
About
About the Discovery:
The new species has been named Apiskarinjodian and given the common name Indian black honeybee.
It is after a gap of more than 200 years that a new species of honeybee has been spotted in the Western Ghats.
The last honeybee described from India was Apisindica in 1798 by Fabricius.
Although Fabricius named the Indian bee Apisindica, it was not considered a valid species till now.
While proving the distinct identity of Apisindica, led to the discovery of Apiskarinjodian.
The research team restored the status of Apisindica based on a new measure for species discrimination in honeybees termed ‘Radio-Medial Index (RMI)’.
Apiskarinjodian:
Apiskarinjodian, the Indian black honey bee, is a species of the genus Apis that was reported recently from India.
Apiskarinjodian has evolved from Apisceranamorphotypes that got acclimatized to the hot and humid environment of the Western Ghats.
Range of Apiskarinjodian: The distribution of Apiskarinjodian ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Conservation status: This species is considered a near-threatened species as per the IUCN Red List.
Pollinator: Bees act as vectors that move pollen within the flower and from flower to flower, this process is called pollinator. There are two categories of pollinators:
Invertebrate pollinators: Include bees, moths, flies, wasps, beetles, and butterflies. More than 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species – particularly bees and butterflies – face extinction.
Vertebrate pollinators: Include monkeys, rodents, lemurs, tree squirrels, and birds. Around 16.5% of vertebrate pollinators are threatened with extinction.