Stingless Bees

Category: Environment / Agriculture

  • Stingless bees are social bees belonging mainly to the tribe Meliponini.
  • Unlike honeybees, they possess highly reduced or non-functional stingers.
  • They are important pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops.
  • They generally live in colonies and produce honey, although usually in smaller quantities than Apis honeybees.
  • Their honey is locally valued and can have distinctive flavour and biochemical properties.
  • Stingless bees are especially important for tropical and subtropical ecosystems.
  • Conservation of their nesting sites can support both biodiversity and agricultural pollination.

Prelims Pointers: Tribe → Meliponini | Stinger → Reduced/non-functional | Importance → Pollination.