A new species of endemic honeybee (Indian black honeybee) has been discovered in the Western Ghats.
Key Takeaway
- The new species has been named “Apis karinjodian” and given the common name Indian black honeybee.
- The finding has been published in the September issue of Entomon; a peer-reviewed journal brought out by the Association for Advancement of Entomology.
- After a gap of more than 200 years, a new honeybee species has been spotted in the Western Ghats.
- The last honeybee described from India was Apis indica in 1798.
The Western Ghats
- About
- The Western Ghats is a mountain chain that runs almost parallel to India’s western coast.
- Spread
- It runs to a length of 1,600 km.
- Starting from the mouth of the river Tapti near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India in Tamil Nadu
- It stretches across six states
- Tamil Nadu
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Goa
- Maharashtra
- Gujarat
- Biodiversity hotspot
- It is recognised as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
- Many sites of the Western Ghats were inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.
- Mountain Ranges
- The Niligiri ranges southeast of Mysore in Karnataka, meet the Shevaroys (Servarayan range) and Tirumala range farther east, linking the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats.
- The peak of Anamudi in Kerala is the highest peak in the Western Ghats, as well as the highest peak in India outside the Himalayas
- This range is home to many hill stations like Matheran, Lonavala-Khandala, Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Amboli Ghat, Kudremukh and Kodagu.
- Rivers
- The major rivers that originate in the Western Ghats and flow towards the west are Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Netravati, Sharavathi, Mandovi etc.
Content Source: The Hindu