Stingless Bees

Stingless Bees
Author: Christoph Grüter
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2020-12-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030600904

Stingless bees (Meliponini) are the largest and most diverse group of social bees, yet their largely tropical distribution means that they are less studied than their relatives, the bumble bees and honey bees. Stingless bees produce honey and collect pollen from tens of thousands of tropical plant species and, in the process, provide critical pollination services in the tropics. Like many other insects, they are struggling with new human-made challenges like habitat destruction, climate change and new diseases. This book provides an overview of stingless bee biology, with chapters on the evolutionary history, nesting biology, colony organisation and division of labour of stingless bees. In addition, it explores their defence strategies, foraging ecology, and varied communication methods. Accordingly, the book offers an accessible introduction and reference guide for students, researchers and laypeople interested in the biology of bees.

Pot-Honey

Pot-Honey
Author: Patricia Vit
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 655
Release: 2013-01-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 146144960X

The stingless bees are one of the most diverse, attractive, fascinating, conspicuous and useful of all the insect groups of the tropical world. This is a formidable and contentious claim but I believe it can be backed up. They are fifty times more species rich than the honey bees, the other tribe of highly eusocial bees. They are ubiquitous in the tropics and thrive in tropical cities. In rural areas, they nest in a diversity of sites and are found on the flowers of a broad diversity of crop plants. Their role in natural systems is barely studied but they almost certainly deserve that hallowed title of keystone species. They are popular with the general public and are greatly appreciated in zoos and gardens. The chapters of this book provide abundant further evidence of the ecological and economic importance of stingless bees.

Stingless Bees of Mexico

Stingless Bees of Mexico
Author: José Javier G. Quezada-Euán
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2018-08-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319777858

The stingless bees are the most diverse group of highly social bees and are key species in our planet’s tropical and subtropical regions, where they thrive. In Mexico, the management of stingless bees dates back centuries, and they were an essential part of the culture and cosmogony of native peoples like the Maya. In recent decades a vast amount of information has been gathered on stingless bees worldwide. This book summarizes various aspects of the biology and management of stingless bees, with special emphasis on the Mexican species and the traditions behind their cultivation. Much of the information presented here was produced by the author and the team of researchers at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán in the course of three decades of working with these insects. Given the breadth of its coverage, the book offers an equally valuable reference guide for academics, students and beekeepers alike.

The Australian Native Bee Book

The Australian Native Bee Book
Author: Tim Heard
Publisher:
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2015-09-30
Genre: Bees
ISBN: 9780646939971

This book describes native bees generally and provides a complete guide to keeping Australian native stingless bees. It is richly illustrated with over 500 photos, drawings and charts to increase accessibility and aid learning. It is written by an expert who has spent his lifetime intimately engaged with these unique creatures. Keeping native stingless bees is a hot topic in Australia for commercial, environmental and recreational reasons. You can do something about the decline of pollinators by conserving native bees. Whether you keep a hive or two in your suburban garden, or want to use multiple hives on a commercial farm, this friendly guide has you covered. Bee biology, behaviour, nesting, social life and foraging; How to build your own native bee hive; How to transfer a bee colony to a hive box and propagate hives; All about sugarbag honey, including how to extract it from hives; Managing your hive; Identifying and dealing with pests; Using stingless bees for pollination - from small gardens to commercial crops; A complete list of Australia's stingless bee species, how to identify them, their characteristics, where they occur, and recommended hives; A readable summary of the latest research on native bees.

Pot-Pollen in Stingless Bee Melittology

Pot-Pollen in Stingless Bee Melittology
Author: Patricia Vit
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2018-03-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319618393

This book covers pot-pollen—the other product, besides honey, stored in cerumen pots by Meliponini. Critical assessment is given of stingless bee and pot-pollen biodiversity in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Topics addressed include historical biogeography, cultural knowledge, bee foraging behavior, pollination, ecological interactions, health applications, microbiology, the natural history of bee nests, and chemical, bioactive and individual plant components in stored pollen. Pot-pollen maintains the livelihoods of stingless bees and provides many interesting biological products that are just now beginning to be understood. The Meliponini have developed particular nesting biologies, uses of building materials, and an architecture for pollen storage. Environmental windows provide optimal temperature and availability of pollen sources for success in plant pollination and pollen storage. Palynological composition and pollen taxonomy are used to assess stingless honey bee pollination services. Pollen processing with microorganisms in the nest modifies chemical composition and bioactivity, and confers nutraceutical benefits to the honey and pollen widely relished by native people. Humans have always used stingless bees. Yet, sustainable meliponiculture (stingless bee-keeping) projects have so far lacked a treatise on pot-pollen, which experts provide in this transdisciplinary, groundbreaking volume.

Australian Stingless Bees

Australian Stingless Bees
Author: John Douglas Klumpp
Publisher: Earthling Enterprises Pty Limited
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2007
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780975713815

Keeping native Australian stingless social bees.

Beescape for Meliponines

Beescape for Meliponines
Author: Abu Hassan Jalil
Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2014-07-08
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1482823624

A practical guide for Stingless Bee Keepers and culturists with detailed description of common Stingless Bees in Malaysia and other regions globally. Complete list of names of Meliponine Genera and species in the Indo-Malayan clade. Lists flowers visited by Meliponines worldwide and Bee plants suitable for Apiaries and Meliponaries. This book provides helpful hints for Landscape planners to accommodate bees in everyday landscaping. Also serves as a guide for bee conservationists and advocates of sustainable future for Bees in general.

Stingless bees culture (Meliponiculture) in Kerala: hand book for farmers

Stingless bees culture (Meliponiculture) in Kerala: hand book for farmers
Author: Prem Jose Vazhacahrickal
Publisher: Amazon Publishers, USA
Total Pages: 74
Release: 2018-10-25
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1729237908

Stingless bees are highly social insects which populated the tropical earth 65 million years ago longer than honey bees. They are limited to tropics and subtropics lacking venom apparatus and cannot sting. Impacts of anthropogenic influences on honey bees were already reported. Recent studies also showed that the nesting behaviour of Trigona iridipennis Smith in natural habitat also vary due to interaction, pheromones and environmental stimulus. A little is reported so far about the various natural and domesticated nesting of the Trigona iridipennis Smith in Kerala. Trigona iridipennis Smith shows great diversity in plant selection for dietary as well as resin sources. The shift towards ornamental plants for foraging may be an adaptation evolved in response to human modification of the environment. The bees collect resin from a variety of sources for building nest, its maintenance and also for defence. This hand book deals with several aspect of Meliponiculture and various problems dealing with stingless bees in Kerala.

A Guide to Native Bees of Australia

A Guide to Native Bees of Australia
Author: Terry Houston
Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2018-08-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1486304087

Bees are often thought of as yellow and black striped insects that live in hives and produce honey. However, Australia’s abundant native bees are incredibly diverse in their appearance and habits. Some are yellow and black but others have blue stripes, are iridescent green or wasp-like. Some are social but most are solitary. Some do build nests with wax but others use silk or plant material, burrow in soil or use holes in wood and even gumnuts! A Guide to Native Bees of Australia provides a detailed introduction to the estimated 2000 species of Australian bees. Illustrated with stunning photographs, it describes the form and function of bees, their life-cycle stages, nest architecture, sociality and relationships with plants. It also contains systematic accounts of the five families and 58 genera of Australian bees. Photomicrographs of morphological characters and identification keys allow identification of bees to genus level. Natural history enthusiasts, professional and amateur entomologists and beekeepers will find this an essential guide.