Mapping of stingless bee fauna in Nagaland

A comprehensive survey was conducted to know the diversity of stingless bee fauna in Nagaland. The stingless bee specimens were collected from different districts of Nagaland state of India. A total of 1,568 samples were collected from forests and nesting hives. A new species of stingless bee, Tetragonula gressitti Sakagami was recorded for the first time. During the study, six species from different districts were reported. These species were categorised district-wise and altitude-wise ranging from 100 to 3,230 m amsl based on GPS coordinates and distribution pattern was also observed. Species distribution map was created using the species diversity data according to the number of species recorded from each district. Among all the districts, maximum five species were recorded from district Peren followed by 4 from Mokokchung district and Mon and Kiphire districts with 3 species each. Kohima, Zunheboto, Tuensang, Noklak and Wokha districts were least diversified for stingless bee fauna with only 2 species recorded from each district. This was the first attempt in the country to map the stingless bee diversity. The study will provide a base for further studies on stingless bee diversity and rearing experiments in the country.