Simple ways to manage stingless bees

Alejandro C Fajardo and Cleo R Cervancia, Philippines

Stingless bees, species of Trigona, are mass produced in the Philippines for pollination and honey production. The honey is used as a food supplement and as a medicine for colds, coughs and fevers. The price of Trigona honey is twice that of honey from honeybees.

The usual way of harvesting honey from a natural nest of Trigona disturbs the colony because of the destruction of a large portion of the nest. If takes time and energy for the bees to mend the damage. This problem is minimised by the method described here.

Halved coconut shells are cleaned thoroughly - this prevents ant infestation. A one centimetre diameter hole is made at the top of the shell to serve as an entrance and exit point for the bees. Several smaller holes are drilled around the rim to accommodate supporting wires.

The shells are fastened with wires in tree trunks, branches or roof trusses. Leaves of a local fern (Drynaria sp) are used to cover the gaps between the shell and the tree. Trigona swarms easily transfer to the improvised nests. Sometimes the shells are primed with propolis to deter ants.

The bees keep their brood near the base of the nest and utilise the upper portion of the shell as food chambers. During the honey and pollen season the coconut shells are removed and replaced with larger ones, and more leaves are piled along the sides.

The colonies expand their brood into the areas covered with leaves. As the season progresses more shells are added on the top of the shells, and are placed in front of the several nest entrances. The bees extend their stores into these new chambers.

During the swarming season (February-March) strong colonies are divided. Brood chambers containing queen cells are removed along with some adult bees and placed 1-2 metres away from the original colony. These so-called 'starter' colonies are then allowed to rear their own queen. Drifting of worker bees does occur, but the colonies recover. Two starter colonies can be made from a ten-shell colony.

This method can be used also to harvest honey and pollen from colonies established in walls and elsewhere. The top-most shell is lifted at harvest time, leaving the brood intact. The technique allows for a sufficient honey and pollen harvest with minimal disturbance to the colony. This helps to conserve these bees that are vital for pollination of wild plants and crops. Colonies can be reared without transferring or relocating existing nests from the wild.

* Please see the original Journal article to see a series of images and pictures of this method.