A Review on the Potential of Stingless Bee Culture (Meliponiculture) for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
Vijay Laxmi Rai *
College of Agriculture, Campus Kotwa, Azamgarh-276001, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya-224229, India.
Rudra Pratap Singh
College of Agriculture, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya-224229 (U.P.), India.
Shweta Patel
College of Agriculture, Campus Kotwa, Azamgarh-276001, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya-224229, India.
Dhirendra Kumar Singh
College of Agriculture, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya-224229 (U.P.), India.
Shivangi Maheshwari
College of Agriculture, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya-224229 (U.P.), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Bees are well-known insects in our society for their significant contribution to the life of mankind in the form of their special product, substantial ecological services, and also for their sting and associated danger. However, most people are ignorant about a large number of bee species that are harmless and also produce economically important products. These bees belong to the Meliponini tribe, known as “stingless bee or dammer bee”. The art and science of rearing stingless bees is commonly referred to as Meliponiculture. The rearing of stingless bees is generally practiced for obtaining honey, pollen, propolis and pollination activities. These bees are highly social insects, having a vestigial sting, naturally living in permanent colonies, nesting in dark places like cavities in tree trunks, empty logs, cracks and crevices in old walls. Unlike Italian bee, it provides very little honey in quantities but has various nutraceutical properties due to which it is used in medicinal products. The stingless bee honey fetches a higher price in the domestic as well as international market compared with honey from Apis spp. Many people reject beekeeping because of defensive behavior of Apis spp. can prefer to go for meliponiculture in rich floral resource habitats. However, wider adoption of meliponiculture faces several challenges, such as limited availability of stingless bee colonies, lack of standardized rearing techniques, inefficient honey extraction and processing methods, and inadequate market linkages. Additional pollinator species are required in agriculture to preserve resilience in food production and increase productivity under uncertain environmental conditions and the decline of honeybee populations. Future research should focus on developing improved colony multiplication methods, sustainable hive designs, and climate-resilient management practices, along with policy support mechanism to promote large-scale adoption. This review highlights the potential of meliponiculture for sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and rural development, while identifying key research gaps to guide its future growth.
Keywords: Dammer bees, meliponiculture, sustainability, income generation