A new species of endemic honeybee has been discovered in the Western Ghats.
Key points
- The new species has been named Apis karinjodian 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 Apis indica in 1798 by Fabricius. Although Fabricius named the Indian bee Apis indica, it was not considered a valid species till now.
- The research team restored the status of Apis indica based on a new measure for species discrimination in honeybees termed ‘Radio-Medial Index (RMI).’
- Apis karinjodian has evolved from Apis cerana morphotypes that got acclimatised to the hot and humid environment of the Western Ghats.
- The distribution of Apis karinjodian ranges from the central Western Ghats and Nilgiris to the southern Western Ghats, covering the States of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- The research team , which discovered the species, comprised Shanas S. from Kerala Agricultural University’s Integrated Farming Systems Research Station, Karamana, here; Anju Krishnan G., a Ph.D. research scholar from the Zoology Department of S.N. College, Cherthala (affiliated to the University of Kerala); and Mashhoor K. from the EMEA College of Arts and Science, Malappuram.
(Source: The Hindu)
