Rifat Hussain Raina, Ishfaq Majeed Shah, Preeti Choudhary and Indu Sharma
Abstract
The present study documents a new distributional record of Bombus separandus Vogt, 1909 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a member of the subgenus Melanobombus, from the Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary in Shopian district, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Extensive survey was conducted across diverse habitats within the sanctuary, revealing B. separandus as a key pollinator in this protected Himalayan region. The species was primarily observed foraging on Cirsium sp. for nectar and pollen collection. This study provides diagnostic morphological characteristics; Geo referenced data and relevant illustrations to aid in species identification and ecological assessment.