Evaluation of the productive development of Melipona scutellaris beehives

Abstract

Stingless beekeeping has drawn the general attention of beekeepers because of the easy management and the quality of products. Nevertheless, little is known about their production and biology. The present study evaluated the development of Melipona scutellaris hives, considering the production parameters in a beekeeping environment. The growth parameter of hives is food storage. In the case of M. scutellaris, storage is made inside beeswax pots. Therefore, beeswax pots in the hives were classified and counted as nectar pots, pollen pots, open pots, closed pots and empty pots. Hive dimensions were also taken and evaluated. The results indicated that hives show different amounts of pots that vary as a function of the number of individuals in the hive. It was confirmed that the availability of food resources determines the utilization of food storage, i.e., if there is resource limitation and foraging is compromised, bees utilize the food that is stored inside the pots.

Keywords

• stingless bee
• production
• parameters