23/08/2018

Stingless bees
for research,
education, pets and
nature ambassadors
Plenary Tim Heard,
9B: Breaking the sting barrier:
conservation and sustainable use Sugarbag Bees, Brisbane,
of stingless bees
and University of Sydney,

Overview
Introduction to Stingless bees

Journey from obscurity to insect

ambassadors

Conservation and sustainable use of

stingless bees

Research to support their sustainable

use

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Introduction to
Stingless bees

Apidae: Meliponini
Photo: Tobias Smith
The “other” group of highly eusocial bees
C. 500 species globally, 11 in Australia
Pan-tropical distribution
Nest typically in hollow trees
Meliponiculture: stingless bee keeping

Stingless
bee nest Batumen Nest wall

Honey storage pots

Pollen storage pots

Mature brood cells

Young brood cells

Involucrum
Photo: Dan Coughlan

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Honey bees
Old world
distribution
Approx 10 species
Natural distribution
Introduced distribution

Stingless bees

Pan tropical
distribution
Approx 500 species

Journey from
obscurity to insect
ambassadors.
Then to now.

Few beekeepers,
No hive propagation,
No resources,
Honeybee manuals,
Scientific literature Proceedings of the Second Australian and International
beekeeping Congress, 1988

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The two stingless bee symposia

Hive movements are changing the genetic structure of the stingless bee (Tetragonula
Nadine Chapman
carbonaria)
Tomorrow Francisco Garcia Bulle
Bueno
A new technique for estimating landscape-level density of an Australian stingless bee (Tetragonula
carbonaria

Liam Kendall Stingless bee colony densities within a mass-flowering crop

Abu Hassan Jalil Meliponiculture and Improper Strategies of Stingless Beekeeping in Malaysia
Bronwen Roy Lysinibacillus: A disease of stingless bees?

Helen Wallace Stingless bees, resin ecology and Cadaghi (Corymbia torelliana): friend or foe?
Nick Powell Hive Design for Australian native bees
The role of food supplementation in native bee pollination: From a grower / beekeeper’s
Francois Visser
perspective
Glenn Otto The Bee safe, a secure stand for stingless bee hives

Dean Haley
The use of natural insect repellents to prevent infestation by hive syrphid fly and hive phorid fly
Samantha Redshaw A new method of marking and tracking stingless bees

Ryan Newis Bees and plant resin: sources, chemistry and bioactivity
18 of the 32 talks Pollinator distribution and efficiency in mango, avocado and macadamia tree crops across three
Bryony Willcox
on stingless bees growing regions in Eastern Australia".
Brian Cutting Efficiency of Australian native bees for pollination of watermelons

Chris Fuller Managing stingless bees in the commercial orchard environment

Lisa Evans Abundance, distribution, and effect on nut set of managed stingless bees in a macadamia orchard

Romina Rader Stingless bee and honeybee performance in glasshouses, Abstract coming
Microclimatic conditions in polytunnels used for berry production influence flower visitation by
Mark Hall
stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria)

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NOW:
Books

Clubs

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Workshops
and
seminars

TV

Media

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Schools

Hives now highly

visible

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NOW
Websites, Facebook pages,
YouTube videos
Local council programs
Men’s sheds
Indigenous groups
Businesses

Not just stingless bees

Glenbo Craig’s image of

Chris Fuller’s bee hotel

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Not just Australia

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Proposed for economic development

Why stingless bees?

• Stingless
• Pets
• Social insect
• Domestication, propagation
• Tetragonula carbonaria
• Honey production
• Pollination
• Tetragonula carbonaria
• Conservation

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Pets
‘Biophilia’
Humans need a
relationship with
nature to thrive

Stingless beekeeping surveys

1998 2010 2018
No of beekeepers (n) 257 637 ?
No of nests (n) 1425 4935 ?
Most popular species T. carbonaria (69%) T. carbonaria (62%) ?
T. hockingsi (20%) A. australis (23%)
Reasons for keeping bees (%) (%) ?
Enjoyment 81 78 ?
Conservation 68 67
Pollinate bushland 27 29
Pollinate crops 24 24
Crops pollination -- 1
Honey production 8 11
Hives sales 5 4
Education 2 12
Research 2 4

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Stingless beekeeping surveys

http://www.beesbusiness.com.au/survey.html

Domestication, propagation

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Domestication, propagation

Tetragonula carbonaria
- Subtropical distribution
- Excellent species for keeping
- Model study organism

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Queen production

Queen cells

Photo: Jeff Willmer

Queens Tetragonula carbonaria

Virgin Queen Mated Queen

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Mating

• Takes place outside nest, on the wing

• Queen only ever does one mating flight
• Males form a congregation in anticipation
• Queen flies through the male congregation
• She mates with one male
• Return to nest and use the stored sperm
for rest of her life

Mated queen Image: James Dorey

Photo: James Dorey

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Queen
replacement:
Emergency
queen cells

Indigenous beekeeping in Central America

Totanacas keep small Scaptotrigona mexicana in clay pots

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Domestication, propagation
9B Propagation techniques including
queen transfers and brood grafts
Dean Haley, Facilities Supervisor, Luina
Bio Pty Ltd, Darra, QLD

Natural enemies and defence mechanisms

9B Stingless bee pests and diseases

Assoc Prof Robert Spooner Hart

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Habitat, type, diversity and bee health

9B Resource diversity and bee health

Dr Sara Leonhardt, Research Group

Honey
production

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Stingless bees for pollination

Gardens

Crops

Conservation and sustainable use of

stingless bees

Conservation Threats
Harvesting of wild populations
Destruction of colonies by land clearing
Anthropogenic movements cause adverse genetic
consequences for wild populations
Spread of disease
Competitive impacts on other species
Loss of cryptic species

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Conservation Threats

1. Harvesting of wild populations

Does commercialisation and trade motivate

harvesting of wild populations?

Easy propagation of colonies takes pressure

off wild populations

Conservation Threats

2. Destruction of colonies by land clearing

Commercialisation of stingless bees gives

them a dollar value and motivates the rescue
of colonies under threat.
Appreciation of the value of bees as crop
pollinators may motivate the preservation of
remnant native vegetation.

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Conservation Threats
3. Anthropogenic movements cause
adverse genetic consequences for wild
populations

Conservation Threats
3. Anthropogenic movements cause
adverse genetic consequences for wild
populations

“We conclude that the anthropogenic

movements of stingless bees along the east
coast of Australia is unlikely to have adverse
genetic consequences for wild populations.”

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Conservation Threats

4. Anthropogenic movements or other

beekeeping activities lead to spread of
disease or pests
Most pests are native and widespread so
movement of colonies wont make much
difference.

Conservation Threats

5. Competitive impacts on other species

Is the keeping of stingless bees at high
densities to the detriment of other native
species that use floral resources?

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Conservation Threats

6. Loss of cryptic species

E.g. Tetragonula davenporti is a cryptic
species that we think is very restricted in
geographic range.
Could beekeeping activities be threatening
it?
Could other human activities be leading to
its demise?

Stingless bee diversity in

Australia
Two genera

–Tetragonula –Austroplebeia

Photos: Tobias Smith

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What happened to Trigona (CSIRO 1991)?

Rasmussen and
Cameron 2007

Anne Dollin

–Revision of
Tetragonula

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Anne Dollin –Revision of

Austroplebeia

Austroplebeia
australis

Wide distribution, particularly

common in drier areas from
Hunter Valley to the Kimberley

Photos: Jeff Willmer

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Tetragonula hockingsi
North Australian tropical species

Conservation and sustainable use of

stingless bees
Utilisation
Honey production
Pollination

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Honey
production

Indigenous
Australians
Hunters of
stingless bee
nests

Photo: Alan Yen

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Average± SD
Honey Moisture (g/100 g honey) 26.5 ± 0.8

Electrical conductivity (mS/cm) 1.64 ± 0.12

Production
Ash (g/100 g honey) 0.48 ± 0.06
1 kg /hive/year HMF (mg/kg honey) 1.2 ± 0.6
pH 4.0 ± 0.1
Composition Acidity (milliequivalents/kg
128.9 ± 23.3
honey)
High water content
High acidity Nitrogen (mg/100 g honey) 202.3 ± 191.2
Unusual sugars Diastase (DN) 0.4 ± 0.5
Invertase (IN) 5.7 ± 1.5
Fructose 24.5 ± 1.9
Glucose 17.5 ± 2.8
Maltose 20.3 ± 2.9
Sucrose 1.8 ± 0.4
Fructose + glucose 42.0 ± 4.5
Total sugars 64.6 ± 1.9

Antimicrobial
activity of honey
Peroxide vs Non-peroxide activity

Leptospermum Leptospermum
honey honey + catalase
Brush box Brush box honey
honey + catalase

Staphylococcus aureus

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Antimicrobial activity of honey

Sustainable use - pollination

Remnant
vegetation
provides wild
pollinators

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Sustainable use - pollination

11BThe pollination contribution of

stingless bees to 5 Australian crops
Dr Romina Rader, University of New England, Armidale,
NSW

Crop pollination – use - pollination

Sustainable
role of remnant
vegetation

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Introducing hives of stingless bees to farms

11B Protecting stingless bees from insecticides on farms

Chris Fuller, Owner and Director, Kin Kin Native Bees, Kin Kin, QLD

The proportion of bees collecting pollen

of the target crop for five crop species

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Efficient ways of mounting hives on farms

Fighting swarms are caused by

an attacking colony attempting to usurp the
nest of the defending colony

11B Fighting
swarms and tolerance to
crowding in Australian stingless bees
Dr Ros Gloag, School of Life and Environmental
Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW

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Summary
Introduction to Stingless bees

Journey from obscurity to insect

ambassadors

Conservation and sustainable use of

stingless bees

Research to support their sustainable

use

Dedication

To Australia’s
stingless bee
keepers

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Thank you!
tim@sugarbag.net
www.sugarbag.net
Facebook: Sugarbag Bees

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