Species Diversity and External Nest Characteristics of Stingless Bees in Meliponiculture

Abstract

Stingless bee farming is a new and potential booming industry in Malaysia. A study
was conducted on stingless bee species preferred by meliponiculturists in Malaysia.
External nest characteristics of the stingless bee species were also described. Sampling
of 161 stingless bee colonies at a bee farm in Kelantan, Malaysia (06°07’N, 102°19’E)
revealed five species of stingless bees and one unidentified species. The species included
Trigona itama, Trigona thoracica, Trigona terminata, Trigona laeviceps, and Hypotrigona
scintillans and one unidentified meliponid that accounted for 83.2%, 11.2%, 2.5%, 1.9%,
0.6% and 0.6%, respectively. The external nest characteristics, including the height of tree
trunk, the trunk circumference at the top and bottom, and the height of the entrance tube
from the bottom, were measured together with the size and description of entrance tube for
each species. It was apparent that of 17-32 known species of stingless bees in Malaysia,
only T. itama and T. thoracica were mostly used in meliponiculture.

Full text

Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3): 293 - 298 (2014)
ISSN: 1511-3701 © Universiti Putra Malaysia Press
TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
Journal homepage: http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/
Article history:
Received: 11 September 2013
Accepted: 4 April 2014
ARTICLE INFO
E-mail addresses:
caleyk27@hotmail.com (Kelly, N.),
farisya_1991@yahoo.com (Farisya, M. S. N.),
kumara_k2001@yahoo.com (Kumara, T. K.),
marcela.fun@gmail.com (Marcela, P.)
* Corresponding author
Short Communication
Species Diversity and External Nest Characteristics of Stingless
Bees in Meliponiculture
Kelly, N.1, Farisya, M. S. N.1, Kumara, T. K.1* and Marcela, P.2
1Faculty of Agro Based Industry, Jeli Campus, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag No.100,
17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
2School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
ABSTRACT
Stingless bee farming is a new and potential booming industry in Malaysia. A study
was conducted on stingless bee species preferred by meliponiculturists in Malaysia.
External nest characteristics of the stingless bee species were also described. Sampling
of 161 stingless bee colonies at a bee farm in Kelantan, Malaysia (06°07’N, 102°19’E)
revealed ve species of stingless bees and one unidentied species. The species included
Trigona itama, Trigona thoracica, Trigona terminata, Trigona laeviceps, and Hypotrigona
scintillans and one unidentied meliponid that accounted for 83.2%, 11.2%, 2.5%, 1.9%,
0.6% and 0.6%, respectively. The external nest characteristics, including the height of tree
trunk, the trunk circumference at the top and bottom, and the height of the entrance tube
from the bottom, were measured together with the size and description of entrance tube for
each species. It was apparent that of 17-32 known species of stingless bees in Malaysia,
only T. itama and T. thoracica were mostly used in meliponiculture.
Keywords: Entrance, Trigona, honey, meliponiculture, nest, stingless bee
INTRODUCTION
Stingless bee beekeeping is known as
meliponiculture. This activity, which
is generally undertaken by traditional
communities, has local characteristics
according to regional and traditional
knowledge. In Australia, interest in
production and marketing of Australian

Kelly, N., Farisya, M. S. N., Kumara, T. K. and Marcela, P.
294 Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3) 293 - 298 (2014)
honey is expanding. Although the total
annual honey production in Australia is
currently small (i.e., with probably less than
100kg), there is potential for rapid growth.
At present, the market wholesale price of
honey is about AU $50 per kg. In Asia,
stingless bee beekeeping for pollination
purpose is only beginning to take root
in southern Asia, India and in SE Asia
including Malaysia and the Philippines
(Cortopassi-Laurino et al., 2006).
Stingless bee farmers in the state of
Kelantan, Malaysia, commercialize three
types of stingless bee products, namely
honey, bee bread and propolis. The current
market price for stingless bee honey is
RM35 per 300g, RM30 for 200g of bee
bread and RM25 for 10ml of propolis,
depending upon consumers’ demands. At
the moment, however, the stingless bee
species of economic value and its external
nest characteristics in Malaysia remain
unexplored. Hence, this paper explores
the subject matter mentioned and provides
measurements of the extracted tree trunks
from the forest with stingless bee colony
in it.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sampling was done at a bee farm located in
the state of Kelantan, Malaysia (06°07’N,
102°19’E). Measurements of the height
of tree trunks, height of the entrance tube
from bottom, size and shape of the entrance
tube were documented. In this study, ve
to ten specimens of stingless bees were
caught in individual plastic bag [34.5cm
(h) x 24.6cm (w)] for each colony and they
were brought back to Biology Laboratory,
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia.
At the laboratory, the bee specimens were
killed using chloroform, pinned and oven
dried at 40°C overnight. Once preserved,
the specimens were identified with the
taxonomy keys provided by Schwatz (1939),
Sakagami et al. (1990) and taxonomic
revisions by Rasmussen (2008).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 161 colonies of stingless bees were
measured and documented (Fig.1). Five
species of stingless bee and an unidentied
species were collected during the sampling.
The ve species were Trigona (Geniotrigona)
thoracica, Trigona (Heterotrigona) itama,
Trigona (Lepidotrigona) terminata, Trigona
(Lisotrigona) scintillans and Trigona
(Tetragonula) laeviceps. In particular, T.
itama were highly preferred by bee farmers
and this species contributed 83.2% of the
total colonies in the farm, followed by
T. thoracica (11.2%) (Table 1). The two
species contributed 94.4% of the total
stingless bee species in the farm. Stingless
bees could be found throughout the world
with more than 500 species estimated
(Heard, 1988; Ruttner, 1988). In Malaysia,
the number of stingless bee species varies
between 17 to 32 species depending on the
study areas (Norowi, 2010; Salim, et al.,
2012; Schwarz, 1939). However, within
the diverse species in Malaysia, only two
species were highly sought after by bee
farmers for meliponiculture purposes.

Species Diversity and External Nest Characteristics of Stingless Bees in Meliponiculture
295Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3): 293 - 298 (2014)
TABLE 1
Diversity of stingless bees in the farm
Species Colonies
(n) (%)
Trigona (Geniotrigona) thoracica 18 (11.2)
Trigona (Heterotrigona) itama 134 (83.2)
Trigona (Lepidotrigona) terminata 4 (2.5)
Hyporigona (Lisotrigona) scintillans 1 (0.6)
Trigona (Tetragonula) laeviceps 3 (1.9)
Unidentied 1 (0.6)
Total 161 (100)
Bee farmers extracted wild colonies
nesting in the tree trunks before they
transferred the colony into a bee box and
subsequently sold. Each species of the
stingless bees has specic nest requirements
according to their sizes, population and
habitat quality (Fonseca, 2012). Thus, the
tree trunks represent the preferences of the
species towards specic nesting site. It was
recorded that T. thoracica and T. laeviceps
preferred tree trunk circumferences ranging
from 82 cm to 129 cm, whereas T. itama
and T. terminata preferred tree trunk
circumferences ranging between 71 cm
and to 164 cm (Table 2). Majority of the
tree trunks are of rubbers trees with a few
forest hardwood trees. Extraction of the
wild colonies requires experience and a
good estimation of the location of the brood
within the tree trunks to avoid damages to
the brood. To avoid damages to the brood
during extraction, data on nest entrance and
height of tree trunk from this study could be
used as a reference point to cut or fell the
tree trunk (Table 2). In this study, the nest
Fig.1: Tree trunks with stingless bee colonies

Kelly, N., Farisya, M. S. N., Kumara, T. K. and Marcela, P.
296 Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3) 293 - 298 (2014)
entrance of the stingless bee was found to be
different according to the genus (Fig.2). The
functions of the nest entrances are related to
defense, foraging (Biesmeijer et al., 2005)
and physio-chemical regulation (Roubik,
2006). The narrow tube can be closed
with resin or cerumen or externally coated
with droplets of fresh resin where invaders
like ants may be halted (Wittmann, 1989;
Camargo, 1984). Among the ve species, T.
thoracica was found to form mount-shape
entrance with the widest entrance compared
to all other species. However, the structure
of the nest entrance or the thickness of
the resin enclosing the internal nest are
inuenced by the age of nest, bee genetics
and micro environment including predators,
parasites, symbionts, rain, wind and sun
(Roubik, 2006).
TABLE 2
External nest characteristics of stingless bees by species
Species
Mean ± s.d (cm)
Height of tree
trunk
Circumference of
the tree trunk (top)
Circumference of the
tree trunk (bottom)
Height of entrance
from bottom
T. thoracica 108.7±43.7 105.3±23.7 111.6±17.5 54.7±29.8
T. itama 86.2±20.2 96.3±24.9 100.4±27.1 45.8±21.1
T. terminata 102.3±22.1 108.5±34.4 125±39.3 44.8±34.6
H. scintillans 45 69 110 45
T. laeviceps 70.3±42.2 84.3±1.52 101.7±18.9 37.7±37.8
TABLE 3
Size and descriptions of entrance tube of the sampled stingless bees
Species Entrance tube (mean ± s.d) (cm) Shape Color Rigidity
Length Width Tube Length
T. itama 1.53 ± 0.47 2.04± 0.69 7.84± 7.39 F, R Br, Lb S, H
T. throracica 3.97 ± 1.29 4± 0.92 7.38± 3.65 MBr,
Bl H
T. terminata 1.84± 0.38 1.96± 0.1 7± 2.02 FLb S
T. laeviceps 1.85± 0.35 2.75± 0.75 4.25± 1.75 FBl S,H
H. scintillans NA* RBr S
Entrance shape: F= funnel, M= mount, R= round-ringed; Color: Br=Brown, Bl=Black, Lb=Light Brown ; Rigidity:
S=soft, H=hard;
* NA: Not Available; entrance was accidentally destroyed

Species Diversity and External Nest Characteristics of Stingless Bees in Meliponiculture
297Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3): 293 - 298 (2014)
Fig.2: Shape of the entrance of the stingless bees’ nest. A - Funnel shape entrance of T. itama; B - Round
ringed entrance of T. itama; C - Entrance in shape of mount (T. thoracica), D - Funnel shape entrance of
T. terminata
CONCLUSION
From this study, ve species of stingless
bees and one unidentied bee species were
sampled. The species were T. itama, T.
thoracica, T. terminata, T. laeviceps, and
H. scintillans. Meliponiculture in Malaysia
is limited to two species of stingless bees,
namely T. itama and T. thoracica. Although
the extraction of wild is not sustainable in
the long term, it is the authors’ hope that
in the future, colony propagation will be a
good alternative with the expansion of the
knowledge and research on the biology of
stingless bees.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mr. Razip
for his time and willingness to accommodate
us while undertaking this study at his
farm. This study received the financial
support from research grant R/RAGS/A
07.00/00760A/002/2012/000092.
REFERENCES
Biesmeijer, J. C., Giurfa, M., Koedam,
D., Potts, S. G., Joel, D. M., & Dafni, A.
(2005). Convergent evolution: floral guides,
stingless bee nest entrances, and insectivorous
pitchers. Naturwissenschaften, 92, 444-450.
Camargo, J. M. F. (1984). Notas sobre habitos de
nidicação de Scaura (Scaura) latitarsis (Friese)

Kelly, N., Farisya, M. S. N., Kumara, T. K. and Marcela, P.
298 Pertanika J. Trop. Agric. Sci. 37 (3) 293 - 298 (2014)
(Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae). Boletim
do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 1, 89–95.
Cortopassi-Laurino, M., Imperatriz-Fonseca, V. L.,
Roubik, D. W., Dollin, A., Heard, T., Aguilar, I.
B., Venturieri, G. C., Eardley, C., & Neto, P. N.
(2006). Global Meliponiculture: challenges and
opportunities. Apidologie, 37, 1-18.
Fonseca, V. L. I. (2012). Best management practices
in agriculture for sustainable use and
conservation of pollinators. Retrieved from
http://www.internationalpollinatorsinitiative.org/
uploads/6-010.pdf
Heard, A. E. (1988). Propagation of hives of Trigona
carbonaria Smith (Hymenoptera: Apidae).
Journal of the Australian Entomological Society,
27, 303-304.
Norowi, M. H. (2010). Conservation and sustainable
utilization of stingless bees for pollination
services in agricultural ecosystems in Malaysia.
Retrieved from http://www.niaes.affrc.go.jp/
sinfo/sympo/h22/1109/paper_04.pdf
Rasmussen, C. (2008). Catalog of the Indo-Malayan/
Australasian stingless bees (Hymenoptera:
Apidae: Meliponini). Zootaxa, 1–80.
Ruttner, F. (1988). Biography and taxonomy of honey
bees. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Roubik, D. W. (2006). Stingless bee nesting biology.
Apidologie, 37, 124-143.
Salim, H. M. W., Dzulkiply, A. D., Harrison, R. D.,
Fletcher, C., Kassim, A. R., & Potts, M. D.
(2012). Stingless bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae:
Meliponinae) diversity in dipterocarp forest
reserves in Peninsular Malaysia. The Raffles
Bulletin of Zoology, 60(1), 213-219.
Sakagami, S. F., Ohgushi, R. I., & Roubik, D. W.
(1990). Natural history of social wasps and bees
in equatorial Sumatra: Hokkaido University
Press.
Schwarz, H. F. (1939). The Indo-Malayan species
of Trigona. Bulletin of the American Museum
Natural History, LXXVI, 83-141.
Wille, A., & Michener, C. D. (1973). The nest
architecture of stingless bees with special
reference to those of Costa Rica. Revista de
biologia tropical, 21, 1-278.
Wittmann, D. (1989). Nest architecture, nest site
preferences and distribution of Plebeia wittmanni
(Moure and Camargo, 1989) in Rio Grande do
Sul, Brazil (Apidae: Meliponinae). Studies on
Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 24, 17–23.