Author: ritwick

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Bees

 

ORDER: Hymenoptera

FAMILY: Apidae

Bees are primary pollinators and are responsible for almost 60% of the pollination that takes place. This family includes the truly social honeybees, solitary and kleptoparasitic bees (parasitizing other bee nests by laying their eggs in host bee nests). The social honey bees are well known as pollinators as they produce the important forest product, honey. Solitary bees like digger bees, carpenter bees and other uncommon social bees like the bumble bees also play crucial roles in pollination.

 

Apis cerana
Common name: Asian honeybee

This is a commonly sighted social bee and an excellent pollinator of crops including: spice crops, fruits, nuts, oilseeds, cauliflower, okra, and onion. It has 8 subspecies. In some situations, Apis cerana is considered to be a superior pollinator compared to Apis mellifera.

Nesting Habits: In natural settings, nests in cavities where multiple combs are found. The Apis cerana is domesticated and hence also flourishes in man-made hives such as containers/boxes.

 

Apis florea
Common name: Little honeybee

It is one of two smallest honeybees found in Southeast Asia. These honey bees are important pollinators and therefore commodified in countries like Cambodia.

 

Source: http://eol.org/pages/2754888/overview
                 Suwannapong, Guntima, Mark Eric, and James C Nieh. Biology of Thai Honeybees : Natural History and Threats. N.p., 2011. Print.

 

Apis dorsata
Common name:  Giant Rock Honeybee

These social bees are known for their aggressive defense strategies and vicious behavior when disturbed. Indigenous peoples have traditionally used this species as a source of honey and beeswax, a practice known as honey hunting. As a colony is initiated, the migration depends on foraging resources and predation risks. These bees travel to different sites depending on the blooming season of flowers. There are about 100,000 members in each colony and each colony resides in one nesting site for about 3–4 months at a time. Colonies tend to decline when resources, such as food, honey, and pollen, are depleted. Colonies decline during the rainy and summer seasons because of the instability of foraging sources due to climate change.

Nesting habits: A colony is generally seen occupying a single comb, high up on the undersides of cliffs or on tall trees. One to many combs may be found at one location.

Sources:
1.  Starr, Christoper (1987). “Nest-site Preferences of the Giant Honey Bee, Apis dorsata (Hymeoptera:Apidae), in Borneo”.
2.  Pan-Pacific Entomologist (63): 37–42.)
3.  Raghunandan, K.S. (2013). “Colony status of Asian giant honeybee, Apis dorsata Fabricius in Southern Karnataka, India”.African Journal of Agricultural Research 8: 680–689.

 

Tetragonula iridipennis
Common name: Indian stingless bee

This is a tropical stingless bee species belonging to the complex genus Tetragonula with about 30 species in India. They are active nectar foragers, and thus are important as pollinators. Tetragonula honey is considered to be of medicinal value. For centuries, colonies of T. iridipennis have been kept in objects such as clay pots so that their highly prized medicinal honey can be utilized. T. iridipennis pollinates from many herbal plants such as the coco palm and the jackfruit tree. They also collect sap from tree species such as Cycas sphaerica. Seven species are reported from India in this threatened taxa.

Nesting habits: They are eusocial bees that nest in logs, wall cavities and even tree trucks.

Source: http://www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i1/SUB1566.pdf

 

Lepidotrigona ventralis
Common name:

Nesting habits: This small stingless eusocial bee has the habit of cavity nesting within hollow tree trunks, mud walls or man-made structures/containers.

Sources:
1. http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Lepidotrigona +ventralis
2. http://www.ajcb.in/journals/short_others_july_2014/AJCBVol3-No1-Vijayakumar.pdf

 

Tetragonula bengalensis
Common name:

The species found in India (the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and the Union Territory Puducherry)

Nesting habits: Small stingless eusocial bee whose habit is cavity nesting within hollow tree trunks, mud walls or man-made structures/containers.

 

Ceratina sexmaculata
Common name: Small carpenter bee

Nesting Habits : Named the small carpenter bee, these bees are solitary and nest in tunnels made in the soft pith of plant stems

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee

 

Xylocopa iridipennis
Common Name: Big carpenter bee

Nesting Habits : The large carpenter bees nest in the hollows of stems or rotten wood.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpenter_bee

 

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ORDER: Hymenoptera
FAMILY: Megachilidae

Megachile spp; Euaspis spp.; Coelioxys spp.;  Anthidiellum spp.; Lithurgus spp.
Common name: Leaf-cutter bee

Most belong to a cosmopolitan family whose habits are mostly solitary, while some may be Kleptoparasitic (parasitizing other bee nests by laying their eggs in host bee nests). They are important pollinators (e.g. legume crops such as beans) and their pollen carrying structure in on the underside of their abdomen (abdominal scopa). Their presence in the vicinity can be indirectly gauged by observing plants (e.g.) rose plants. Leaf-cutter bees line their nest with pieces of leaves and hence they cut out almost round pieces of leaves that will serve their purpose.

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ORDER: Hymenoptera
FAMILY: Halictidae

Halictus spp.; Lasioglossum  spp.; Nomia spp.
Common name: Sweat bee

Sweat bees form a family of metallic or non-metallic bees with a world-wide distribution. The family is divided into four sub-families and together, the habits of sweat bees vary from eusocial, to semi-eusocial to communal to solitary.  Halictids thus show a great diversity not just in habits but also in their morphology. Sweat bees are the most in numbers with the exception of honey bees and thus contribute very greatly to pollination of various crops and wild plants.

Nesting habits: Nesting behavior also varies through the family but ground nesting/nesting in rotting wood is seen to be common.

Source:
1. A species checklist of the Halictidae from India can be accessed here @ http://www.ipublishing.co.in/ijesarticles/twelve/articles/volth ree/EIJES31015.pdf

 

 

 

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Flies

ORDER: Diptera

FAMILY: Syrphidae

 

 

Episyrphus spp. Syrphus spp. Melanostoma spp. Spherophoria spp

Common names: Hover flies, Flower flies

 

Hover flies get their name from their behavior of hovering in the air as they forage on flowers for nectar. Hover flies are important pollinators of wild flowering plants as well agricultural crops and apart from pollination services, many species of hover flies in their larval stage also act as natural biological control agents as they are predators that feed on insects such as aphids, leaf hoppers, etc. Over 350 species of hover flies have been documented from India.

 

Source: A review paper on the hover flies from India can be accessed at this link http://www.faunajournal.com/vol2Issue3/pdf/2-2-59.1.pdf

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Butterflies

India has one of the richest and most diverse butterfly faunas in the world due to its varied climate and topography. Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. Some also derive nourishment from pollen, tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, decaying flesh, and dissolved minerals in wet sand or dirt. Flower constancy has been observed for at least one species of butterfly. Butterflies are very active during the day and visit a variety of wildflowers. Butterflies are less efficient than bees at moving pollen between plants. Highly perched on their long thin legs, they do not pick up much pollen on their bodies and lack specialized structures for collecting it. Even though they do not carry as much pollen load as bees, they are capable of moving pollen over greater distances.

Butterflies probe for nectar, their flight fuel, and typically favour the flat, clustered flowers that provide a landing pad and abundant rewards. Butterflies have good vision but a weak sense of smell. Unlike bees, butterflies can see red. Butterflies typically visit flowers that are:

  • In clusters and provide landing platforms
  • Brightly colored (red, yellow, orange)
  • Open during the day
  • Ample nectar producers, with nectar deeply hidden
  • Nectar guides present
  • May be clusters of small flowers (goldenrods, Spirea)

SUPERFAMILY: Hesperioidea

FAMILY: Hesperiidae (Skippers) – 321 species

While some of them feed on grasses, palms, bamboos, ginger and other monocotyledons, others feed on Achyranthes, Terminalia, Grewia, Dalbergia and other such dicotyledons. Most caterpillars feed at night.

SUPERFAMILY: Papilionoidea

FAMILY: Papilionidae (Swallow tails) – 107 species

The caterpillars of various swallowtail butterfly species feed on a wide range of different plants, most depending on only one of five families: Aristolochiaceae (closely related to wild ginger), Annonaceae (custard apple family), Lauraceae (laurel family), Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) (celery, carrot and parsley) and Rutaceae (citrus family). By eating some of these toxic plants, the caterpillars sequester aristolochic acid which renders both the caterpillars and the butterflies of some of these toxic, thus protecting them from predators. Swallowtail tribes Zerynthiini (Parnassiinae), Luehdorfiini (Parnassiinae) and Troidini (Papilioninae) almost exclusively use the Aristolochiaceae family as their host plants.

SUPERFAMILY: Papilionoidea

FAMILY: Pieridae (Whites and Yellows) – 109 species

SUPERFAMILY: Papilionoidea

FAMILY: Nymphalidae (Brush footed butterflies) – 521 species

SUPERFAMILY: Papilionoidea

FAMILY: Lycaenidae (Blues) – 443 species

Caterpillars in this family eat a wider variety of foods than other butterfly families. Some species eat leaves, but others specialize in flowers or fruit. One species is a  predator! This is ery rate in butterflies and moths. It feeds on wooly aphids, and females lay their eggs near their insect prey. Some adults sip nectar, but many prefer tree sap or puddles.

Source: 1. http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/butterflies.shtml

  1. http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/classification/classification-and-checklist-of-indian-butterflies
  2. Book of Indian Butterflies
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Dongria Kondh

Dongria Kondh of Niyamgiri, Odisha

The Dongria Kondh tribal community, classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG), has been a part of the Niyamgiri landscape for many years, sustaining themselves from the resources of the forests there. The Kondhs are a tribal community with several sub-groups, inhabiting hills tracts of Odisha and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Each sub-group like the Dongria, Kutia, Desia, etc., has its own distinct identity. The name Kondh is said to be derived from the Telugu word Ko or Ku, meaning ‘mountain’, thus a Kondh is a ‘mountain dweller.’ Their native language is Kui, which has no written script. The Dongria Kondh have inhabited the Niyamgiri hill range for centuries. They believe in a Supreme deity Niyamraja (the King of Law) who is also their ancestor. The Niyamgiri hills are thus ‘the Hills of Law’, the abode of Niyamraja, who rules the hills in accordance to these laws, along with other deities associated closely with nature.

The Niyamgiri hill range is spread over 250 sq.km in parts of Rayagada and Kalahandi districts of Odisha. It is part of the Karlapat and Kotgarh biodiverse landscape. The rich deciduous forests are a habitat for several endemic and threatened flora and fauna. It was declared as an Elephant Reserve by the State of Odisha in August 2004. The rivers Vamsadhara and Nagavali originate in these hills. The Niyamgiri Hills are rich in bauxite – aluminium ore and the Dongria Kondh caught the public eye when they successfully protested, lobbied, and eventually thwarted Vedanta Resources’ attempt to expand mining operations in the Niyamgiri Hills.

The customary occupations of the Dongria Kondh are agriculture (shifting cultivation) and collection and sale of minor forest produce. They practice a complex agroforestry system, cultivating patches of land cleared from the forest in rotation, rearing livestock for meat and ritual sacrifices, and collecting various minor forest produce for sustenance and medicinal purposes. The structure of the Dongria Kondh society is closely linked to the sacredness of the mountains and the laws prescribed by Niyamraja. The Dongria Kondh community is organized into several clans or kudas (at least 36 have been identified) with each clan possessing certain customary territories (distinct geocultural landscapes) called padars, which usually consist of several hills. Traditionally, the socio-political decision making body of the Dongria Kondh is known as the kutumba. The kutumba functions at the level of the clan (kuda kutumba) and at the level of a settlement (nayu kutumba).

The clans are exogamous and each clan territory has a dominant clan group as well as groups who have migrated to the clan over a period of time through marriage or kinship. The Dongria Kondh have more than 300 settlements or hamlets across the Niyamgiri hills. These settlements are not permanent, and sometimes communities abandon them in search of new ones, but the new settlements are always located within their clan territories, within their habitat. A settlement is almost always built on gentle slopes with the traditional adobe houses constructed in parallel rows. The houses have wooden foundations and posts and thatched roofs made from a locally available grass. The roofs reach close to the ground on either side. Since the region experiences heavy rainfall and winds, the sloping thatched roofs prevent heavy winds and rains from entering the houses.

The fields and forests of the Niyamgiri hills have been the educational grounds of the Dongria Kondh youth and children. The Dongria Kondh have adopted a system of imparting cultural and traditional values to the adolescents and youths in their villages through exclusive youth dormitories. This system was once prevalent throughout the tribal belt of India through the youth dormitories. Young unmarried boys and girls from the village leave their parents’ homes and stay in village dormitories in the evenings where they are taught by the older youth, thereby gaining insight into the philosophical and practical aspects of life within the community and the natural environment. They are taught about culture, territory, marriage, economics and society. In Niyamgiri, the dormitories for girls were referred to as daaska hada or dhangadi basa and the dormitories for boys as dhangda basa. In the Niyamgiri hills, this unique cultural institution is gradually being shunned by the Dongria Kondh since outsiders with whom the Dongria Kondh came in contact with viewed them as being morally objectionable.

Source: Tatpati, M., Kothari, A., & Mishra, R. (2016). The Niyamgiri Story: Challenging the Idea of Growth without Limits? Pune, Maharashtra: Kalpavriksh.

 

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Kurumba

The Kurumba community of Tamil Nadu are categorized as a Scheduled Tribe and are included in the list of Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs). As per 2001 census, the total population of the Kurumbas is 5498 (2707 males and 2791 females) and their literacy rate is 49.03 per cent. “It is possible that their name originated from the Tamil word ‘kurumbo’ (mischief) because they are said to be very mischievous”. Kurumbas are identified as having five distinct ethnic subcategories in the Nilgiri district on the basis of region of residence, language spoken and variety of cultural traits. These groups are Alu Kurumbas, Betta Kurumbas, Jenu kurumbas, Mullu Kurumbas and Urali Kurumbas.

Alu Kurumbas are found in the taluks of Coonoor and Kotagiri, Betta Kurumbas and Jenu Kurumbas inhabit Mudumalai Sanctuary, Mullu Kurumbas are found in the Pandalur taluk whereas Urali Kurumbas are distributed in the taluks of Gudalur and Pandalur. The Kurumba settlement is called Mottam, and is a cluster of many huts inside the forest,. They are non-vegetarian in food habit. Kurumba practices small game hunting and are extremely skillful in collecting rock bee (Apis dorsata) honey. They make their own fibre/vine/bamboo ladder to climb high cliff and trees in order to collect rock bee honey. The ritual of self-preparation before honey collection is elaborate and strictly adhered to even today.

Originally, animists and totemists, the Kurumbas now follow mainstream Hindu religion and worship “Kumba devaru” and “Karupade thayi”. Kurumbas pass on their folksongs, stories, riddles and rhymes orally through storytellers and musicians. The Kurumbas share a common musical culture with other Nilgiri tribes. Bamboo pipes (kuvalu and bugiri), monofaced drums (tambatte) and two faced drums (are) are popular instruments. Themes are either balladic or associated with death and marriage rituals. In dance, there are two kinds: the gandesa attam is performed by the men while the slower version yen attam is performed by the women. .

Kurumbas women practice body tattooing. The Kurumbas were traditionally hunters, forest food gatherers, and shifting cultivators and now have adapted to working as labour in coffee, tea and vegetable plantations. Some Kurumbas have also become experts in basket weaving. Traditional Kurumba art called Ajile Bottu depicts their beliefs, rituals, hunting techniques and daily village life. Today, the Kurumba youth are reviving this art form which is being well received by the public.

Sources:  Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation

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Toda

Toda man collecting honey from a hive in tree cavity
Toda man collecting honey from a hive in tree cavity

The Toda people are a small pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri Plateau and Western Ghats of south India. Todas are vegetarian in nature and traditionally live in settlements called as Mund consisting of three to seven small thatched houses, constructed in the shape of half-barrels and spread across the slopes of the pasture. They traditionally trade dairy products with their neighbours. Toda religion centers around the buffalo and consequently, rituals are performed for all dairy activities as well as for the ordination of dairymen-priests. The religious and funerary provide the social context in which complex poetic songs about the cult of the buffalo are composed and chanted During the last quarter of the 20th century, some Toda pasture land was lost due to agriculture by outsiders or afforestation by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. This has threatened to undermine Toda culture by greatly diminishing the buffalo herds; however during the last decade both Toda society and culture have also become the focus of an international effort at culturally sensitive environmental restoration.[3] The Toda lands are now a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). The Toda community was originally pastoral but of late begun cultivating vegetables. Since the colonial period, grazing rights have been given to them for a large landscape.

The Toda dress consists of a single piece of cloth, which is worn like shalya wrap over a dhoti for men and skirt for women along with shalya wrap. Toda women are extremely skilled in embroidery. Their traditional embroidery uses the bright shades of scarlet and black on a white background and  the nature-inspired motifs are very old and similar to those in vogue in ancient India. The traditional attire is a must during rituals, marriages and social gatherings. Keeping a pure line of buffalo breed is for rituals and the sacred dairy is strictly adhered even today.

The Todas have the unique practice of gathering Apis cerana honey from natural tree cavity in the forest using a system that has evolved over generations. Such cavities are bequeathed to heirs as property.  Keystone Foundation has been working closely with the Toda community on initiatives like forest restoration, creating a nursery of native forest species, documenting plant diversity, creating a forest bee sanctuary and preserving traditional handicrafts. With respect to the last, Keystone has been instrumental in acquiring the Geographical Indication of Origin for their embroidery.

Sources: 1. Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation
2. Wikipedia

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Paniya

The Paniya are one of the five ancient tribal communities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.  Paniya tribes are one of the major tribal communities residing in different parts of Kerala. They are categorized as scheduled castes and they dwell in different hill and forest areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Various districts where the Paniya tribes have built their settlements include Kozhikode and Malappuram. The word ‘Paniya’ is derived from ‘pani’ which is a Malayalam word meaning work. The people of this tribal community are mostly labourers and their past history also suggests the same. In fact, the Paniya community is among those tribal peoples who have worked traditionally worked as bonded labourers in ancient days. Thick lips, dark complexion and curly hair are the typical physical characteristic of the Paniya people. There is some resemblance between the Paniya people and African natives, and some scholars are of the opinion that the Paniyan people may be of African origin. According to some scholars, Kapiri (Africa or the Cape) is the land of origin of the Paniya tribes.

The Paniya tribes are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the Western Ghats, Wayanad district, and the eastern regions of Kozhikode (Calicut), Malappuram and Kannur districts. Some are found in Gudalur and Pandalur area of Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and in southern part of Kodagu district of Karnataka.  Wage labour, small game hunting and collecting forest produce are the main means of living for this community.  However, their movement within the forest has also been restricted by legislations designed to protect wildlife and biodiversity.  Small scale traditional mixed millet food farming is practiced which includes exclusive varieties of little millets and maize other than pulses, cereals, greens, vegetables and tubers.

Sources: 1. Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation
2. Wikipedia

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Shōliga

Shōliga is an ethnic group of India Its members inhabit the Biligiriranga Hills and associated ranges in southern Karnataka, mostly in the Chamrajnagar and Kollegal districts and the Nilgiri and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu. The Sholiga speak the Sholaga dialect which belongs to the Dravidian family. They have a population of around 20,000 individuals. There are about five subgroups – Male Sholiga, Urali Sholiga, Burudu Sholiga, Kadu Sholiga and Pujari Sholiga. The Sholiga community used to practice shifting cultivation earlier but have more or less given up this practice now. They grow Ragi or finger millet (Eleusine coracana) for subsistence.

The Sholiga’s main source of income is harvesting and sale of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) like honey, nellikai (gooseberry) and paasi (Lichen). They also proficient at bamboo craft and make baskets and furniture using bamboo. Active Government and NGO initiatives are increasing ‘mainstreaming’ the community and many have been given lands closer to ‘civilised areas’ and most of the forest-dwelling population have been brought together into clusters called podus.

Most of the forest area they stay in is protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The Biligirirangan Hills is a Wildlife Sanctuary, the Malai Mahadeswara Hills is a Reserve Forest, and Bandipur is a Tiger Reserve. The Sholiga community’s rights on harvesting NTFP is being sought through the recently implemented Forest Right Act. They practice traditional mixed millet food farming which includes exclusive varieties of little millets and maize other than pulses, cereals, greens, vegetables and tubers. Indigenous breeds of cattle and buffalo are reared in large herds using the forest pen system. Underground granaries are used to store millets. The community is also involved in collecting forest produce like honey, amla, shikakai, bellerica, chebula, lichens, soap berries and phoenix leaves for a living. Keystone has involved them in afforestation activities through village forest councils and forest developmental activities are implemented by eco-development committees created by the Forest Department.

Sources: 1. Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation
2. Wikipedia