Meliponiculture

Meliponiculture is the rational farming of stingless bees (SB), or meliponines (Meliponini tribe), which is different from apiculture (the breeding of bees of the Apis mellifera species; western honey bee or European honey bee; Apini tribe).^[1] In meliponiculture, the hives can be organized in meliponary, places with suitable conditions of temperature, solar orientation, humidity, and food supply (flowers and resins).^[2]

The objectives of meliponiculture are to produce and sell hives (or parts of them), honey, pollen, resins, propolis, wax, and other substrates such as attractants and trap nests; in addition to the ecosystem service of pollination itself, since bees are one of the main agents of pollination and the maintenance of biodiversity.^[4] Furthermore, the activity may not provide saleable products but simply aim to protect species from extinction. Finally, it is also possible to use meliponines colonies to educate children about the environment, since most of these insects do not behave aggressively or harm human beings.^[5][6][7][8]

Indigenous peoples and traditional communities already raised stingless bees and used their honey for various health treatments (such as cataracts), for food and subsistence.^[10] Meliponiculture has long been practiced by the native peoples of Latin America, especially those of Brazil and Mexico.^[11]

Currently, there is a trend towards technification and the growth of scientific knowledge related to the breeding and management of SB, as it is an activity that generates products with high added value and is related to the preservation of natural environments.