Stingless bees are social bees that live in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. All species produce honey, which has been appreciated by humans since ancient times. Here, the general panorama of meliponiculture is presented. Deforestation and poor management are the main problems faced by this incipient industry. For a profitable meliponiculture, much more biological information is needed, as well as field studies in natural conditions. In the near future, we suggest that the successful use of these pollinators will promote the development of new breeding techniques and commercialization possibilities, which must be designed to be sustainable.
Stingless bees are an important asset to assure plant biodiversity in many natural ecosystems, and fulfill the growing agricultural demand for pollination. However, across developing countries stingless beekeeping remains an essentially informal activity, technical knowledge is scarce, and management practices lack standardization. Here we profited from the large diversity of stingless beekeepers found in Brazil to assess the impact of particular management practices on productivity and economic revenues from the commercialization of stingless bee products. Our study represents the first large-scale effort aiming at optimizing stingless beekeeping for honey/colony production based on quantitative data. Survey data from 251 beekeepers scattered across 20 Brazilian States revealed the influence of specific management practices and other confounding factors over productivity and income indicators. Specifically, our results highlight the importance of teaching beekeepers how to inspect and feed their colonies, how to multiply them and keep track of genetic lineages, how to harvest and preserve the honey, how to use vinegar traps to control infestation by parasitic flies, and how to add value by labeling honey containers. Furthermore, beekeeping experience and the network of known beekeepers were found to be key factors influencing productivity and income. Our work provides clear guidelines to optimize stingless beekeeping and help transform the activity into a powerful tool for sustainable development.
Bacteria, molds and yeasts associated with bees have been studied for a long period. Although they seem to play an important role for bee nutrition and protection against harmful microorganisms, few studies have focused on their function and this subject is still very controversial. Although stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) share many similarities with Apis mellifera, this diverse group still conceals many particularities that have not been explored at all. Here we discuss the role of non-pathogenic microorganisms from stingless bee colonies and we focus on their applicability to stingless bee keeping. Our aim is to stimulate studies on functional aspects of microorganisms from stingless bees and their products where upon microorganisms are involved.
Recebido em 21/11/11; aceito em 6/5/12; publicado na web em 3/8/12 PHENOLIC ACIDS, FLAVONOIDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN HONEY OF Melipona fasciculata, M. flavolineata (Apidae, Meliponini) AND Apis mellifera (Apidae, Apini) FROM THE AMAZON. Honey produced by three stingless bee species (Melipona flavolineata, M. fasciculata and Apis mellifera) from different regions of the Amazon was analyzed by separating phenolic acids and flavonoids using the HPLC technique. Data were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis (PCA, HCA and DA). Results showed the three species of honey samples could be distinguished by phenolic composition. Antioxidant activity of the honeys was determined by studying the capacity of inhibiting radicals using DPPH assay. Honeys with higher phenolic compound contents had greater antioxidant capacity and darker color.Keyword: phenolic compounds; honey; HPLC-UV/Vis. INTRODUÇÃOHoje, na criação de abelhas, existem duas grandes linhas de estudo: a Apicultura e a Meliponicultura. Dentro da Apicultura, o conhecimento sobre o mel já vem sendo construído em várias regiões do Brasil, no entanto, na Meliponicultura esses estudos são mais recentes, sendo desenvolvidos com as abelhas regionais.O mel de abelha comercializado no mundo todo é em sua quase totalidade oriundo de uma única espécie, a Apis melífera.1 Contudo, nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais existem mais de 400 espécies descritas de abelhas sociais que podem produzir mel. Estas outras abelhas são conhecidas como abelhas indígenas sem ferrão, ou meliponíneos. São abelhas dóceis, de fácil manejo e necessitam de pouco investimento para a sua criação.2 Dentre todos os gêneros dos meliponíneos, o Melipona é o mais diverso e é na Amazônia que encontramos a maior diversidade.3 Além de ser mais diverso, o gê-nero Melipona é o que abriga as espécies mais produtivas e criadas. 4 Embora produzindo mel em menor quantidade por colônia, algumas espécies possuem uma população correspondente a 5% de uma colônia de A. melífera.5 Os meliponíneos têm o importante papel de fornecer um produto que se diferencia do mel de A. mellifera, principalmente no sabor e aroma peculiares, podendo alcançar preços elevados no mercado. 6De maneira geral, o mel das espécies de meliponíneos tem como principal característica a diferenciação nos teores da sua composição, destacando-se o teor de água (umidade), que o torna menos denso que o mel das abelhas africanizadas.7 A cor varia do quase transparente ao âmbar escuro e o gosto e os níveis de açúcar dependem da espécie, época, região e, principalmente, da florada.8 Além dos açúcares em solução, o mel também contém ácidos orgânicos, enzimas, vitaminas, flavonoides, minerais e uma extensa variedade de compostos orgâni-cos, que contribuem para sua cor, odor e sabor. 9A utilização do mel na nutrição humana não deveria se limitar apenas à sua característica adoçante mas, principalmente, por ser um alimento de alta qualidade, rico em energia e inúmeras outras substâncias benéficas ao equilíbrio dos processos biológicos do nosso ...
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