TAWANG, Oct 7: A Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) field survey has recorded diverse wild bee populations, including bumblebees, across Tawang’s high-altitude landscape, highlighting the importance of alpine flowering habitats for sustaining pollinators in the Eastern Himalayas.
The survey, conducted from September 15 to October 7 under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies, covered elevations from around 2,000 to 4,700 metres at Sela Pass, Bumla Pass, Nagula, Sangetsar Tso, Chumi Gyatse Falls, Jang and other high-altitude areas, including locations near the India-China border.
A team from ZSI’s Desert Regional Centre, Jodhpur, led by Research Associate Purnima Pathak, with Project Assistant Habung Elsa, documented wild bees from the Apidae, Megachilidae, Andrenidae and Halictidae families, with particular emphasis on bumblebees and their association with flowering plants.
Among the important floral resources recorded were Cirsium species, Rose Carpet Knotweed (Bistorta vacciniifolia), locally known as Petma Mento, and Cicerbita alpina. Bumblebees were observed actively foraging on these plants during the survey.
The study noted that Tawang’s short flowering season makes the availability of successive floral resources critical for wild bees. Agricultural fields, kitchen gardens and flowering plants around settlements were also found to provide important nectar and pollen sources.
Scientists said changes in alpine vegetation, habitat disturbance and climate-driven shifts in flowering periods could affect food availability for high-altitude pollinators. They stressed that protecting flowering habitats is as important as conserving the pollinators themselves.
The survey provides baseline information on bee diversity, bee–plant associations and seasonal forage resources and is expected to support future monitoring, habitat mapping and conservation initiatives in Tawang and the wider Eastern Himalayan region.
The project is being implemented by the Desert Regional Centre, ZSI, Jodhpur, with funding from the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The team acknowledged the support of the Tawang Forest Division, particularly DFO Piyush Gaikwad, in facilitating the fieldwork.