Propagation of Stingless Bees Using a Colony Split Technique for Sustainable Meliponiculture

Introduction

The Stingless bee is a large group of bees from the Apidae family and order Hymenoptera (Michener & Michener, 1974). Approximately 700 species of stingless bees were recorded, most found in tropical countries (Heard, 1999). Each species has unique characteristics regarding morphology and behaviour, including size, population and habitat quality (Fonseca, 2012). Stingless bees are highly eusocial insects. They possessed stingers but were highly reduced, which rendered them unusable for defence. Therefore, they are safe for domestication as they do not sting. In addition, most species are perennial, which suited well for meliponiculture.

Heterotrigonaitama is the common species for its honey and other bee products, such as bee bread and propolis. Malaysian beekeepers prefer this species over others since it is less vulnerable to seasonal changes and capable of surviving in harsh environments (Kelly et al., 2014). Heterotrigonaitama makes up 83.2% of the colonies reared in Malaysia. Heterotrigonaitama prefers mild light intensity, climatic conditions, and the vicinity of abundant flora. This species can be easily distinguished from other commonly encountered stingless bees by size and colouration. The colony of H.itama) is usually nested in a trunk of trees and other cavities. Stingless beekeepers normally cut down the trees to get the colony for domestication. This practice of cutting down trees from the wild could lead to environmental destruction, such as soil erosion, flooding, and global warming.

As in other eusocial insects, the queen of H.itama controls the day-to-day organisation and activities of the colony. The queen is important in transmitting information, and workers' participation in the queen's court was correlated to their activity in cell construction (Sommeijer & De Bruijn 1984). The queen signals her presence to the workers via pheromone. The queen's pheromone comprises mostly volatile compounds originating from the mandibular glands. After fertilisation, the queen can easily be identified through size, especially the engorged abdomen. The queen of stingless bees lays fertile eggs that hatch and become female workers, while infertile eggs will turn into drones or males. The larva that consumed more food will turn into queens compared to the ones that eat less (which will turn into female/male caste) (Hartfelder & Engels, 1989). Stingless bees usually produce new queens only when a daughter colony is to be split off from the mother colony and in the case of accidental loss or replacement of an old queen (Michener & Michener, 1974).

The drone of a stingless bee can be seen from a distinctive congregation of up to several hundred individuals, which can persist several times. Generally, male production in a social insect colony is influenced by outside factors related to climatic periodicity and factors inside the colony, such as colony strength and demographic composition. The stingless bee worker is a female bee with a non-functional ovary. In some bee species, workers can produce drones, but this adaptation may create a conflict between the queens. Workers build cells and provision them with larval food, the queen oviposits, and workers seal the cells immediately (Sakakura et al., 1982). The worker bees collect resin from different plants for construction and defend their nest (Armbruster, 1984). Resin is the material that is sticky, usually white or brown, that worker bees collect from specific plants. Worker bees also collect resin to build propolis. Nogueira-Neto (1997) stated that the worker bee takes a small amount of resin and sticks them on the intruder's body until the legs, antennae and wing are entangled.

The nest structures of stingless bees are more complex than those of Apismelifera. The nest of stingless bees is built within protective cavities, cracks, and crevices, such as in trees and buildings. While the sizes of log hives vary, depending on the cavities of tree trunks. Several types of hives for stingless bees have been described. The Nogueiro-Netohive was mentioned in a publication 50 years ago. The publication also described stingless bee biology and the type of hives. The hives should allow the honey to be harvested effectively without damage or destruction of pollen pots which are generally constructed by stingless bees intermixed with the honey pots.