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International Journal of
Zoology Studies
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VOL. 8, ISSUE 1 (2023)
Study on diversity, distribution and relative abundance of insect pollinators on Valeriana jatamansi jones in different altitudinal populations of Shimla hills, western Himalaya
Authors
Madhu Rana, Mahender Singh Thakur
Abstract
Valeriana jatamansi Jones is a perennial medicinal herb that belongs to the family Caprifoliaceae. In India, this species is on the verge of extinction due to the over-exploitation of its roots/rhizomes from its natural habitat to meet the burgeoning industrial demand. Therefore, a study on diversity, distribution, and relative abundance of various insect pollinators of Valeriana jatamansi Jones was carried out by collecting insect pollinators in different localities i.e. Tara Devi (1,927 m), Dhalli (2,155 m), Chaura Maidan (2,100 m), Fagu (2,576 m), Matiyana (2,419 m), Kufri (2,609 m), Kharapather (2,703 m) and Kupper (2,850 m) in Shimla hills of Western Himalaya. Diversity and distribution study showed that Valeriana jatamansi Jones flowers were visited by 51 species of insects pollinators belonging to 5 orders and 12 families of class Insecta, of these, 33 species belonged to Diptera, 4 to Hymenoptera, 9 to Lepidoptera, 3 to Coleoptera and 2 to Hemiptera. During the relative abundance study, it has been observed that dipterans were the most abundant insect pollinators in all eight localities i.e. Tara Devi (80.14%), Kufri (92.62%), Kharapather (82.73%), Kupper (82.91%), Matiyana (63.2%), Fagu (91.10%), Dhalli (84.97%), Chaura Maidan (87.59%) followed by hymenopterans in Tara Devi (14.04%), Kharapather (9.81%), and Kupper (8.49%), lepidopterans in Kufri (2.95%), Matiyana (12.41%), Fagu (5.44%) and Dhalli (5.67%) and coleopterans in Chaura Maidan (5.50%).
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Pages:12-20
How to cite this article:
Madhu Rana, Mahender Singh Thakur "Study on diversity, distribution and relative abundance of insect pollinators on <em>Valeriana jatamansi</em> jones<em> </em>in different altitudinal populations of Shimla hills, western Himalaya". International Journal of Zoology Studies, Vol 8, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 12-20
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