Umer Ayyaz Aslam Sheikh
Bumblebees are declining throughout the world. Himalayan ranges of Sakardu Pakistan are natural habitats for bumblebee but these bees are declining here due to lack of awareness among the local people who are destroying their floral host range, habitats, parasitism is also one of the declining reason. In first part this project population, seasonal distribution and floral host range of bumblebee will be monitored and in second part citizen science (meetings and public seminars) will be used to create awareness to local peoples. In third part collected bee samples will be examined in to estimate the parasitism rate in bumblebee.
Project will be conducted in Himalayan range of Sakardu, Pakistan. Sakardu is lie between 35°17'60.00" and N 75°36'59.99" E, and its altitude is about 2,500 metres (8,202 feet). It lies in Himalayan range of Pakistan. The following activities will be performed during the period of this project.
Activities:
1. Field surveys: Monitoring the temporal and spatial behaviour of Bumblebees reveal us current situation of population
2. Collection of Samples for parasitism study: Bumblebees sample will be collected from sub locations to estimate the parasitism rate which is one of the declining reason.
3. Involve Citizen Science: Awareness seminars about bumblebee conservation and their floral host range. Collect the data about nests abundance from the people.
4. Field photography: Wild shoots of the species with its floral hosts contribute to maintain Databases
Expected Outputs of the project:
1) It will practically help to conserve the nesting sites and produced very good results for bumblebee conservation in this area.
2) It will practically help to save the existing bumblebee nest to aware the local people that they will not damage the bee nests if they found nearby.
3) Results about parasitism will be practically helpful to develop future studies and management for parasites of bumblebee which will be very helpful to conserve the bee’s populations.
4) It monitors the bumblebee population in different locations which will show the declining of bumblebee population in this area, On the basis of these results we can develop future strategies for conservation.