Abstract
The “uruçu-cinzenta” (Melipona fasciculata) is an Amazonian stingless bee species that is easily maintained in artificial hives. It is reputed to be a good honey producer, and has potential to be used as a pollinator of tropical crops. The provision of beeswax foundation in honey bee hives was possibly the technique that most improved honey production in apiculture. In meliponiculture, the use of a similar technology is unknown or does not exist. In the present work, honey production was evaluated after the introduction of cerumen to colonies of M. fasciculata in the form of: artificially-constructed pots (the beeswax foundation analog for meliponiculture); amorphous masses (balls); and recovered naturally-made pots after honey extraction. After the provision of natural pots, honey production was 2.7 times higher than in the control treatment, so, this technique is likely to be adopted as a practice in the beekeeping of M. fasciculata during high foraging season. With the offering of the cerumen in balls, honey production was 1.6 times higher than in the control treatment, but this difference was not significant, which may be a consequence of the high variability in honey production among hives. The introduction of artificially-constructed cerumen pots can be considered an equivalent technique to beeswax foundation in terms of improving honey production and facilitating its harvest. Therefore, this technique has the potential to revolutionize stingless beekeeping by saving labor; furthermore, the compartmentalization of honey pots to a super, would facilitate harvesting and diminish stress for larvae and young bees.
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