What are Stingless bees?

This block of soil has stingless bees inside.
It was dug from a termite hive

Stingless bees which belong to Meliponula Ferruginea are small insects which are brown in color. They commonly live in termite hills which have termites (for safety).

When they enter the termite hill, they usually nest in the brooding area of the termites and they keep expanding their nest upto a size of a rugby ball and I will call this a nest pot (since it resembles a pot shape).  The nest is usually located 1 to 1.5metres deep (also depends on the size of the termite hill).

When the nest grows big (colony size), usually the bees go deeper and begin a new nest where a princess (new queen) move and start laying eggs to start complete colony. Commonly, we find 2 colonies connected to the mother colony (first colony).

Showing the entrances for the separate hives 

we found in the termite hill. 

Can you see the two standing pipes like straws

All the three colonies use only one entrance (main entrance). We found more than one independent colonies in one termite hill with separate entrances and the nests never connect (And they are the very one I am writing the post on and all the photos used here).

Characteristics of the bees

These bees are stingless; they don’t sting. They are shy. 

They rarely abscond.

Organisation of the hive

Showing a honey pot

They build soft resin/gum (cerumen) pots where they store honey and pollen. The size of one pot is like a peanut/ groundnut. The brood combs are like normal bee combs though they are smaller in size. They are located in the centre of the nest and they are covered in honey and pollen pots. Brood combs are horizontally aligned and they are attached by thin resin/gum (pillars) to each other.

Pots for honey, pollen are also attached to each other by thin gum.

Showing inside the nest;
honey and pollen pots on outside,
brood are circular and
the queen cells are in the centre. 

The brood combs are cylindrical in shape and provide a big space in the centre where queen eggs are laid and raised. Also the centre acts as the main highway or passage to connect to various sections in the nest (including the tertiary nests).

Note: Stingless bees build nest according to colony size. Therefore they keep expanding until it reaches a maximum width and length of a rugby ball.

The honey has a higher moisture content (thin) compared to normal honey from apis melifera.

A Queen on a brood comb

The queen has a light brownish stomach and she can’t fly. The bees don’t gather around her like normal bees do. And since these bees are shy, they don’t eat their honey while you are working them even when it spills. They don’t fly away even when the nest is torn into pieces; they just crawl around. I have this photo where the chickens were eat them as they where crawling on the ground!

Above all, stingless bees are very easy to domestic compared to apis melifera because, they don’t easily abscond, they require small boxes and they don’t sting (safe for the community).

But they are low honey producers! The wax is brown in color and soft and somehow sticky.

More photos are available on request or in our facebook group (blessed honeybee centre Uganda)