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Wild Florida Photo -Melipona Bee

Melipona Bee

Matanzas Prov, Cuba 02/19/19
Matanzas Prov, Cuba 02/19/19

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These are known as stingless honey bees and are native to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. These bees are now being cultivated by beekeepers in Cuba, where they have also reported to now be found wild.
Honey from Melipona bees has been harvested as long as 3000 years ago by the Mayan civilization and at least two species - Melipona beecheii and M. yucatanica - are kept by beekeepers in Central America today. These bees are suffering in their native territories from habitat loss.
Melipona bees produce much less honey than the European honey bees that most of us are familiar with. The honey is also more citrus-flavored and thinner. It can even be sipped through a straw straight from the little honey pots in the hive.
Melipona bees are members of the Apidae family.

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Paul Rebmann Nature Photography at pixels.com