Bombus cryptarum ( Fabricius, 1775 )

Raina, Rifat Hussain, Kumar, Keshav, Parrey, Aejaz Hussain, Sharma, Indu, Uniyal, Virendra Prasad & Saini, Malkiat Singh, 2024, Bombus cryptarum (Fabricius, 1775), a rare bumblebee species (Hymenoptera, Apidae) new to India, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10 (1), pp. 51-58 : 52-53

Bombus cryptarum ( Fabricius, 1775)

Apis cryptarum Fabricius, 1775:379 ; Bombus albocinctus Smith, 1854:397 ; Bombus florilegus Panfilov, 1956:1334 ; Bombus reinigianus Rasmont, 1984:137 ; Bombus armeniensis Rasmont, 1984:138

Material examined. 1 ♂, INDIA: Jammu and Kashmir: Bandipora: Gurez Valley: Sheikhpora , 07-ix-2022, 34°35'06.37" N, 75°00'03.11" E, Alt. 2634 m, Coll. Rifat Raina & party, NZC Regd. No. 13286/A.; 5 ♂♂, INDIA: Jammu and Kashmir: Bandipora: Gurez Valley: Purana Tualil , 04-ix-2022, 34°35'14.97"N, 75°00'06.84" E, Alt. 2678 m, Coll. Rifat Raina & party, NZC Regd. No. 13287/A.; 4 ♂♂, INDIA: Ladakh: Leh: Panimik , 19-ix-2022, 34°47'33.83" N, 77°31'58.51" E, Alt. 3256 m, Coll. Rifat Raina & party, NZC Regd. No. 13288/A.; Altitudinal range: 2600–3500 m AMSL .

Diagnosis (Male). Size of the bumblebee ranges from 13–14 mm in length. Thoracic dorsum and T2 lemon yellow without black hairs ( Fig. 2C). T3 completely black and colour of scutellar hairs yellow. The black band between the wing bases with some yellow hairs intermixed ( Fig. 3A). Genitalia with penis valve greatly broadened and flared outward to form half of a funnel ( Fig. 3C). Volsella shows strongly sclerotised and forms an anterior apical corner ( Fig. 3D). Gonostylus with the anterior apical process with long hairs.

Distribution. Worldwide: Northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Mongolia, northern Palaearctic, and Nearctic regions ( Williams, 2022); India: Kashmir and Ladakh (First record from this region).

Remarks. The addition of Bombus cryptarum to the genus subgenus Bombus s.str. completes the full distribution of all five species B. tunicatus Smith, 1852 , B. longipennis Friese, 1918 , B. reinigi Tkalcu, 1974 , B. jacobsoni Skorikov, 1912 ( Williams, 2022) represented by this subgenus in the Indian Himalayan region. This species was recorded in Northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Mongolia, and northern Palaearctic and Nearctic regions. In India, the first record of this species is recorded from Kashmir and Ladakh with an elevation ranging from 2600–3500 m AMSL. The registration numbers are similar for B. cryptarum as the specimens were collected from a single locality. The colour pattern and the identification keys are matched by using the literature ( Williams et al., 2011; Williams, 2022). This species was observed to feed on the flowers of Thymus linearis Benth (Himalayan thyme) and Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (creeping thistle) in the Himalayan landscape and are the efficient pollinators of various medicinal plants, especially the Lamiaceae and Asteraceae families at high land ecosystems.