Decreasing potential suitable habitat of bumble bees in the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation area

A first-of-its-kind study projects that four bumble bee species—Bombus tunicatus, Bombus haemorrhoidalis, Bombus festivus, and Bombus asiaticus—will face heightened extinction risks in the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area by 2050 due to shrinking suitable habitat. Researchers used a MaxEnt species distribution model with bioclimatic and biophysical data collected between May 2018 and October 2019, identifying nine bumble bee species in the region. The Jackknife test revealed key variables influencing these projections. This decline threatens vital pollinators for Himalayan agriculture and wild ecosystems.

Singh, A. P., Chandra, A., De, K., Uniyal, V. P., & Sathyakumar, S. (2022). Decreasing potential suitable habitat of bumble bees in the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation area. Oriental Insects, 57(1), 36–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/00305316.2022.2040631