Stingless Bees of Mexico

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. Taxonomy and Diversity of the Stingless Bees

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 1-40

3. Nesting Biology

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 41-55

4. Anatomy and Physiology

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 57-69

5. Sex Determination and Caste Production

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 71-89

6. Colony Function and Communication

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 91-129

7. Reproduction

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 131-165

8. Services Provided by Stingless Bees

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 167-192

9. Managing and Preserving Stingless Bees

   • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

   Pages 193-242

10. The Past, Present, and Future of Meliponiculture in Mexico

    • José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

    Pages 243-269

11. Back Matter

    Pages 271-294

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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.

• Meliponiculture
• Crop pollination
• Chemical communication
• Task partitioning
• Social insect
• Entomology

“This book is a real first. It is highly illustrated with color photographs, bringing readers step by step into external and internal bee anatomy and pollination ecology … . Hope blossoms due to the efforts of Quezada-Euán and the biologists, beekeepers, conservationists, educators, anthropologists, and business-minded naturalists (such things matter deeply) who will find the book authoritative and use it to move forward.” (David Ward Roubik, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 94, September, 2019)

• Departamento de Apicultura Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico

  José Javier G. Quezada-Euán

Dr José Javier G. Quezada-Euán is an entomologist with a specialization in bees. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán in 1988 and his postgraduate studies at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He is an acknowledged expert on stingless bees, which he has worked with for nearly thirty years, and has published work on various aspects of the biology, conservation and management of these insects in different scientific journals.

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