Abstract
BackgroundStingless bees were significant resources managed by Mesoamerican peoples during pre-Columbian times and remain important in particular areas. Our study aimed at inventorying stingless bees’ species, traditional knowledge and forms of use and management of them at the municipality of Nocupetaro, Michoacán, Mexico, a region of the Balsas River Basin.MethodsWe inventoried the stingless bees of the municipality of Nocupétaro, Michoacán, México, through extensive collecting of bee specimens in different vegetation types. We then conducted semi-structured interviews to local experts in order to document their knowledge and management techniques of stingless bees’ species.ResultsWe identified a total of eight stingless bees’ species in the study area as well as three additional unidentified taxa recognized by people through the local names. Our inventory included one new record of species for the region (Lestrimelitta chamelensis Ayala, 1999). The taxa identified are all used by local people. Scaptotrigona hellwegeri Friese, 1900; Melipona fasciata Latreille, 1811; Frieseomelitta nigra Cresson, 1878 and Geotrigona acapulconis Strand, 1919 are particularly valued as food (honey), medicinal (honey and pollen), and material for handcrafts (wax). All species recorded are wild and their products are obtained through gathering. On average, local experts were able to collect 4 nests of stingless bees per year obtaining on average 6 L of honey and 4 Kg of wax but some came to collect up 10–12 hives per year (18 L of honey and 24 Kg of wax).ConclusionsLocal knowledge about use, management and ecological issues on stingless bees is persistent and deep in the study area. Information about this group of bees is progressively scarcer in Mexico and significant effort should be done from ethnobiological and ecological perspectives in order to complement the national inventory of bee resources and traditional knowledge and management of them.
Highlights
Stingless bees were significant resources managed by Mesoamerican peoples during pre-Columbian times and remain important in particular areas
In the study area we recorded a relatively high species richness of stingless bees including 7 genera and 8 species
It is important to notice and highlight that in this study L. chamelensis was identified as a new record of species for the Balsas River Basin of Michoacán, and was recorded the presence of M. fasciata, which is endemic to the region and are recognized as mountain species, inhabiting zones of relatively higher elevations [2,3]
Summary
Stingless bees were significant resources managed by Mesoamerican peoples during pre-Columbian times and remain important in particular areas. It is known that between 30 to 50% of flowering plant species of tropical areas of the New World are pollinated by bees a high proportion of them belonging to the taxonomic group analyzed in this study [4,5]. This fact and the current global crisis of pollinators [6] caused by human activities impacting their diversity and abundance [7,8,9] are priority issues for both science and society. In the tropical Americas this activity originated in pre-Columbian times, with important advances in Mesoamerica, the cultural area comprised between southern Mexico and North-eastern Costa Rica, as well as in the Andean region [10,11]
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