Being pollinators, bees have become the most useful group of insects and there are over 20,000 species of described bees in the world (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2012). Of them, about 152 species belonging to four (of the seven) families Colletidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae and Apidae are found in Sri Lanka (Karunaratne et al., 2005; Wijesekara, 2001).
Dalla Torre (1896) is considered the first one who recorded bees in the country (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2012). He was followed by C.T. Bingham (1897) who documented the keys for 42 species of bees in 15 genera from Sri Lanka (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2008; Wijesekara, 2001). Thereafter, investigations made by Smithsonian Institution, Washington during the 1978-1998 period and by several other taxonomists in the modern period resulted in the identification and documentation of 152 bee species in 38 genera and four families (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2012; Karunaratne et al., 2005).
References
1) Karunaratne, W.I.P. and Edirisinghe, J.P., 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of the Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Sri Lanka. The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka. Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. pp.65-99.
2) Karunaratne, W.I.P. and Edirisinghe, J.P., 2008. Keys for the identification of common bees of Sri Lanka. J.Natn.Sci.Foundation Sri Lanka 2008 36 (1). pp.69-89.
3) Karunaratne, W.A.I.P., Edirisinghe, J.P. and Gunatilleke, C.S., 2005. Floral relationships of bees in selected areas of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science, 34, pp.27-45.
4) Wijesekara, A., 2001. An annotated list of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformis) of Sri Lanka. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, 144(1), pp.145-158.
This page was last updated on 20 May 2022
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
For a complete tourist map follow this link: Lankapradeepa Tourist Map
Tags:
Fauna of Sri Lanka
