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Stingless Bees

Can I keep stingless bees?

Yes, and many people start with a single box, in the garden or on the balcony. Keeping native bees is called meliponiculture, and it has rules to protect the species.

How to start

  1. Choose a species from your region.
    In Brazil, CONAMA Resolution No. 496/2020 asks keepers to raise only species native to where they live. A bee brought from far away can harm the local bees.
  2. Start with a gentle species.
    The jataí is small, gentle and does well in cities, so it is often a beginner’s first box. Ask a stingless-bee keeper which one suits your area best.
  3. Get your colony the right way.
    Buy it from a registered meliponary, take in bees from a rescue or use a bait, a prepared bottle that attracts a new swarm.
  4. Look after the box.
    Keep it in the shade, sheltered from rain and away from pesticides. For the first few months, just watch: opening the box all the time weakens the colony.
Dark, striped uruçu bees on the brood combs of the nest
Uruçus on the brood combs: the colony grows from the inside out.

What about honey?

There isn’t much: a jataí box usually gives about a litre a year, or less. Their biggest gift is pollinating the plants around them.

What not to do

  • Don’t take nests from the wild: the colony almost always dies. The right way is a rescue, done by someone who knows how.
  • Don’t buy a colony from another region, even if it’s cheap.
  • To sell honey or colonies, check with your state’s environmental agency first.