Pot-Honey

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxviii

   PDF

2. Origin, Biodiversity and Behavior of the Stingless Bees (Meliponini)

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

3. Origin, biodiversity and behavior of the stingless bees (Meliponini)

   1. The Meliponini

      • Charles D. Michener

      Pages 3-17

   2. Historical Biogeography of the Meliponini (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae) of the Neotropical Region

      • João Maria Franco de Camargo

      Pages 19-34

   3. Australian Stingless Bees

      • Megan Halcroft, Robert Spooner-Hart, Lig Anne Dollin

      Pages 35-72

   4. Stingless Bees from Venezuela

      • Silvia R. M. Pedro, João Maria Franco de Camargo

      Pages 73-86

   5. Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Meliponini) of French Guiana

      • Alain Pauly, Silvia R. M. Pedro, Claus Rasmussen, David W. Roubik

      Pages 87-97

   6. Stingless Bees of Guatemala

      • Carmen Lucía Yurrita Obiols, Mabel Vásquez

      Pages 99-111

   7. Stingless Bees of Costa Rica

      • Ingrid Aguilar, Eduardo Herrera, Gabriel Zamora

      Pages 113-124

   8. Stingless Bees in Argentina

      • Arturo Roig-Alsina, Favio Gerardo Vossler, Gerardo Pablo Gennari

      Pages 125-134

   9. Mexican Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Diversity, Distribution, and Indigenous Knowledge

      • Ricardo Ayala, Victor H. Gonzalez, Michael S. Engel

      Pages 135-152

   10. The Role of Useful Microorganisms to Stingless Bees and Stingless Beekeeping

       • Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Vollet-Neto, Felipe Andrés Felipe León Contrera, Giorgio Cristino Venturieri, Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca

       Pages 153-171

   11. Microorganisms Associated with Stingless Bees

       • Paula B. Morais, Paula S. São Thiago Calaça, Carlos Augusto Rosa

       Pages 173-186

   12. Stingless Bee Food Location Communication: From the Flowers to the Honey Pots

       • Daniel Sánchez, Rémy Vandame

       Pages 187-199

   13. On the Diversity of Foraging-Related Traits in Stingless Bees

       • Michael Hrncir, Camila Maia-Silva

       Pages 201-215

4. Stingless Bees in Culture, Traditions and Environment

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 217-217

      PDF

5. Stingless bees in culture, traditions and environment

   1. Stingless Bees: A Historical Perspective

      • Richard Jones

      Pages 219-227

   2. Medicinal Uses of Melipona beecheii Honey, by the Ancient Maya

      • Genoveva R. Ocampo Rosales

      Pages 229-240

   3. Staden’s First Report in 1557 on the Collection of Stingless Bee Honey by Indians in Brazil

      • Wolf Engels

      Pages 241-246

   4. Melipona Bees in the Scientific World: Western Cultural Views

      • Raquel Barceló Quintal, David W. Roubik

      Pages 247-259

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.

• Entomology

From the reviews:

“This up-to-date treatise … contains an impressive amount of information about the stingless bees of the world. … contributors provide detailed information about the diversity, cultural and historical influence, biology, and ecology of these bees throughout the work. … it is a must-have for bee and honey researchers, students, and enthusiasts. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above; general readers.” (J. M. Gonzalez, Choice, Vol. 51 (1), September, 2013)

“This new publication is one of the first books specifically devoted to stingless bees. It is certainly the first to focus on the honey produced by this group of insects. … The chapters of this book provide abundant evidence of ecological and economic importance of the stingless bees. … this book provides enough knowledge to stimulate the realization of the nutritional and medicinal potential of pot honey.” (Tim A. Heard, Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición, Vol. 62 (4), 2012)

• Zumba Sur, University of the Andes, Merida, Venezuela

  Patricia Vit

• Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

  Silvia R. M. Pedro

• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, Panama

  David Roubik

Policies and ethics