Karyological studies on bumble bee, Bombus haemorrhoidalis Smith in Himachal Pradesh

Bumble bees are important pollinators and are being reared in several parts of the world. The karyological studies on bumble bees are scanty. The present studies were conducted at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan to ascertain the chromosome number of male and female Bombus haemorrhoidalis. It was observed that male has n= 18 haploid chromosomes while female has n= 36 diploid chromosomes. Actual length and relative length of chromosomes of male and female of bumble bees were also studied.