Stingless bees (SB), sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (from about 462 to 552 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the family Apidae (subfamily Apinae), and are closely related to common honey bees (HB, tribe Apini), orchid bees (tribe Euglossini), and bumblebees (tribe Bombini). These four bee tribes belong to the corbiculate bees' monophyletic group. Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviors and mechanisms. Meliponines are not the only type of bee incapable of stinging: all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae and Megachilidae (tribe Dioxyini), also cannot sting. Some stingless bees have strong mandibles and can inflict painful bites. Some species can present large mandibular glands for the secretion of caustic defense substances, secrete unpleasant smells or use sticky materials to immobilise enemies. The main honey-producing bees of this group generally belong to the genera Scaptotrigona, Tetragonisca, Melipona and Austroplebeia, although there are other genera containing species that produce some usable honey. They are farmed in meliponiculture in the same way that European honey bees (genus Apis) are cultivated in apiculture. Throughout Mesoamerica, the Mayans have engaged in extensive meliponiculture on a large scale since before the arrival of Columbus. Meliponiculture was popular in Maya society, influencing their social, economic, and religious activities. The practice of maintaining stingless bees in man-made structures is prevalent across the Americas, with notable instances in countries such as Brazil, Peru, and Mexico.
Taxonomy The taxon Meliponini was first erected by the German entomologist Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister in 1876. It is currently classified as a tribe within the family Apidae, which also includes honey bees (Apini), bumble bees (Bombini), and orchid bees (Euglossini). The name Meliponini is derived from the genus Melipona, which is a major genus within the tribe. The term melipona comes from the Greek words meli (μέλι), meaning "honey", and pōnē (πόνη), meaning "labor" or "toil", referencing their role as honey producers. Members of Meliponini are commonly known as stingless bees due to their highly reduced stingers, which are non-functional for defense. Despite this, they are capable of biting and exhibit complex colony defense strategies.
Geographical distribution Stingless bees can be found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as the African continent (Afrotropical region), Southeast Asia and Australia (Indo-Malayan and Australasian region), and tropical America (Neotropical region). The majority of native eusocial bees of Central and South America are SB, although only a few of them produce honey on a scale such that they are farmed by humans. The Neotropics, with approximately 426 species, boast the highest abundance and species richness, ranging from Cuba and Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south. They are also quite diverse in Africa, including Madagascar, and are farmed there also. Around 36 species exist on the continent. The equatorial regions harbor the greatest diversity, with the Sahara Desert acting as a natural barrier to the north. The range extends southward to South Africa and southern Madagascar, with most African species inhabiting tropical forests or both tropical forests and savannahs. Meliponine honey is prized as a medicine in many African communities, as well as in South America. Some cultures use SB honey against digestive, respiratory, ocular and reproductive problems, although more research is needed to disclose evidence that supports these practices. In Asia and Australia, approximately 90 species of stingless bees span from India in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east, and from Nepal, China (Yunnan, Hainan), and Taiwan in the north to Australia in the south.
Origin and dispersion Phylogenetic analyses reveal three distinct groups in the evolutionary history of Meliponini: the Afrotropical, the Indo-Malay/Australasia, and the Neotropical lineages. The evolutionary origin of the Meliponini is Neotropical. Studies observing contemporary species richness show that it remains highest in the Neotropics. The hypothesis proposes the potential dispersion of stingless bees from what is now North America. According to this scenario, these bees would have then traveled to Asia by crossing the Bering Strait (Beringia route) and reached Europe through Greenland (Thulean route).
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