~ 2111 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(6): 2111-2117 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2017; 5(6): 2111-2117 © 2017 JEZS Received: 27-09-2017 Accepted: 29-10-2017 Rifat Husain Raina Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India Malkiat Singh Saini Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India Zakir Hussain Khan Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Kashmir, Srinagar, India Correspondence Rifat Husain Raina Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India Taxonomy and ecology of Bombus trifasciatus Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Megabombus ) from Indian Himalaya with description of new variants Rifat Husain Raina, Malkiat Singh Saini and Zakir Hussain Khan Abstract Bombus trifasciatus Smith 1852 is very variable in colour pattern. Queens differ in colour of abdominal tergum 3 with yellow and black; while workers have abdominal tergum 3 yellow and brick red; lateral aspects of thorax are white in some individuals. Due emphasis has been laid on its detailed taxonomic descriptions, food plants, population variation, synonymy, distribution pattern and illustration. Many new food plants of this species have been recorded for the first time from the area under study. Keywords: B. trifasciatus, taxonomy, population variation, food plants, Indian Himalaya Introduction Bombus trifasciatus (Smith, 1852) is an Oriental species. In India this species is commonly known to occur at low altitudes with a long seasonal activity. It is widely distributed in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal (Darjeeling), Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya Saini et al. [1] . Its population is very high in the field and it emerges very early at the start of the season (i.e. May). In Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas its members were recorded from the foot hills of Pir Panjal range and lower mountains of coniferous forest during May-September. Queens and workers prefer to forage on Cirsium spp. (Asteraceae) and some selected members of Balsaminaceae and Ranunculaceae. This species has altitudinal distribution ranging from 1700-2400m amsl. On the basis of some morphological features, sex, caste and colour pattern there is a lot of intra-specific population variation of the species. This problem is so acute that some time it is difficult to put different variants under the same species. Prior to Williams [2] based on colour pattern, some unstable and ambiguous morphological features, size and sex there were 172 species from Indian sub continent. Bingham [3] compiled 23 species in fauna of British India that included some records from the neighbouring countries; as Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, etc. Subsequent workers added 149 species to this list, raising the total species number to 172, but due to lot of synonymy as put forth by Williams [2] , only 47 species stand as valid. Genus Bombus is at present represented by 48 species from India out of which 37 species are reported from North West Himalaya Saini et al. [1] . However, Williams [2] made a detailed study and taking male genitalia, sculpture, topography and labrum and clypeus and some other stable ratios and synonymized most of the species thus reducing the number of valid species to only 47. There are 250 valid species of bumblebees present on global basis Williams [4] , whereas only 48 species of these bees are known from Indian Himalaya (Williams [5] ; Saini et al. [2] ). Some important works regarding the economic importance of the species under study and its association with entomophilous flowering plants include (Smith, [6, 7] ; Dalla Torre [8] ; Richard [9] ; Skorikov [10] ,; Tkalcu [11-13] ; Williams [14] ; Yin et al. [15] ; Williams et al. [16] ; Burger et al. [17] ; Saini et. al., [18,19] ). The present study is designed to explore food preference and ecological distribution pattern, detailed taxonomic description, population variations, taxonomic illustrations of the B. trifasciatus from North-west Himalayan belt as this region forms a natural unit of taxonomic coverage for the genus Bombus. Materials and Methods The specimens treated for the present studies was collected during the last 10 years (2007- 2016) from various localities viz. Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Anantnag, Baramulla, Kishtiwar,