Comprehensive checklist and conservation assessment of singapore bees

Did you know that Singapore has a total of 133 bee species? In this new paper, we present the first checklist and conservation status assessment of bee species found in Singapore. Using information from site occurrences, habitat associations and year of records, we provide each species with a conservation status, and identified species of conservation concern.

Source: Ascher et al 2022. Photos by Zestin Soh.

Proportion of Singapore's bee species in conservation statuses. Adapted from the IUCN Red List criteria. Source: Ascher et al 2022.

Out of the 14 stingless bee species (tribe Meliponini), five are either Nationally Extinct or Critically Endangered. This identifies a need for conserving these bees, especially since they are key generalist pollinators in tropical forest systems. This study helps inform future conservation work for these important pollinators and marks a step forward to addressing the taxonomic impediments towards insect conservation in Southeast Asia!

Read more at: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/01/RBZ-2022-0004.pdf