Bee fauna (Apoidea: Hymenoptera) from Resunga Protection Forest, Nepal, including a new country record

Abstract

Eight species of bees from four genera and two families (Megachilidae and Apidae) are documented from Resunga Protection Forest, Gulmi district, Lumbini Province, Nepal. Megachile argentata Fabricius, 1793 is recorded as a new country record. Five species of bumblebees are also documented from a two-day targeted hand netting effort. These findings highlight the critical need for further taxonomic research and frequent collections to improve the baseline knowledge of Nepalese native bees. Detailed taxonomic work on native bees of Nepal could be especially impactful in the present context.