Abstract

Bees are highly responsive to floral resource availability and environmental variability, making them valuable biological indicators of habitat degradation, land-use change, and agricultural expansion. Despite the harsh conditions of arid and high-altitude ecosystems, these environments support remarkable bee diversity and endemism. However, bee diversity, as well as the identity of floral resources that support insect populations, remains underexplored, particularly in the high-altitude ecosystems of northern Chile, which are underrepresented in the scientific literature. This study assesses bee diversity and plant-bee interactions in a high-altitude desert ecosystem in the Volc & aacute;n Isluga National Park, located in the Tarapac & aacute; region, an area of scientific interest due to mining activities. Fieldwork was conducted in two pre-Andean villages between May and June 2023. A total of 71 bees from 19 morphospecies, 13 genera, and four families were collected. The family Apidae was the most abundant, followed by Halictidae, Colletidae, and Megachilidae. Bees interacted with 18 plant species, with Fabaceae and Asteraceae being the most represented families. These findings highlight the role of local flora in supporting bee communities and underscore the need for conservation strategies to maintain ecosystem services and ensure sustained pollination services.