Chapters authored
From Extraction to Meliponiculture: A Case Study of the Management of Stingless Bees in the West-Central Region of Mexico
Currently, stingless bees' populations are declining due to environmental degradation. In this context, the authors have developed a research project in the central-western region of Mexico with the goal to generate strategies for conservation and sustainable management of stingless bees. The chapter aims to present the process of this investigation and its main results in terms of a) local knowledge and management strategies of stingless bees, and b) the social process of technological appropriation of meliponiculture by beekeepers. We recognized specific knowledge on the biology and ecology of stingless bees that result in a system for identifying species and management strategies of wild populations of these bees based on the extraction of nests. The implementation of an innovative productive activity based on the principles of meliponiculture and current techniques has been well received by producers, which has led to the formation of the Meliponicultores Michoacanos del Balsas Association, which grows five species of stingless bees. The research suggests that conservation associated with the use of bees (integral meliponiculture) can be enhanced in the region. Faced with the loss of biodiversity and environmental crisis, it is essential to maintain and enhance local knowledge of stingless bees and management practices. This represents an alternative to develop management schemes that allow the raising and breeding of these bees, while its products are obtained.
Part of the book: Beekeeping and Bee Conservation
Pot-Pollen and Pot-Honey from Stingless Bees of the Alto Balsas, Michoacán, Mexico: Botanical and Physicochemical Characteristics
The demand for stingless bees’ products (pot-honey and pot-pollen) has increased. No formal quality standards have been defined, which is very complex, because of the variety of species and types of honey specific to each region. For this reason, it is important to deepen the understanding of stingless bees’ honey characteristics. From the above, the aim of this chapter is to present the advances in the characterization of botanical origin of stingless bees’ honey, and the analysis of their physicochemical properties in the Alto Balsas, Michoacán, Mexico, as a way to contribute to the strengthening of new local economic strategies, generating information on the quality of the honey produced in the region.
Part of the book: Honey Analysis