Stingless Bees Produce Medicinal Honey
If a poll were taken, and people asked why they do not like bees around their picnic, front door, or pool, the most typical response is fear of being stung. There are some people who are allergic to bees, and a sting can land them in the hospital. But what if stingless bees were flying around your lunch or the pond in your neighborhood? There are more than 175 species of bees with no stingers! Native to the Peruvian Amazon, the stingless bees produce extraordinary honey. The honey is shown to have medicinal properties that can help in healing as well as warding off algae and fungi — this, as one can imagine, is vital to sustaining food without it going rotten too quick in the intense humidity and moisture common to the Amazon region.
Due to their unique nature, stingless bee honey products are an essential part of the Peruvian Amazon economy. Harvesting the honey for sale as well as using it locally to treat ailments makes finding sustainable solutions to protecting the stingless bees a vital business. What has happened until recent efforts is over-harvesting of stingless beehives, which results in damaged or destroyed hives. Sadly, once a hive is destroyed, bees move on, and if hives continue to be destroyed, there is a high probability the bees will not stick around. If the stingless bees leave the region, it would be devastating for locals who use the bee products for income and trade. Additionally, the researchers involved in this effort have already learned many exciting things about the stingless bee species. There is still more to discover about how the stingless bee honey may also provide help for humans on a broader scale.
Raising Stingless Bees
There is a solid effort between scientists, locals, and researchers from international universities and National Geographic who see the immense value of protecting the stingless bee species. The Peruvian Amazon people currently harvest honey in the wild because guess what? Stingless bees can bite, which can be very painful! Some stingless bee species like to eat meat! This has been a deterrent for locals to want to try to raise their own stingless bees and leave the ones in nature for periodic harvesting only. As scientists and researchers joined with the locals, many are embracing the idea of raising bees.
Continued strides in working together result in sustainable and increased stingless bee honey production, which strengthens the economy of the Peruvian Amazon people. After being hit hard through the COVID-19 pandemic, the locals struggle to build back up the economy. The local people would greatly benefit from self-sustaining resources. Suppose the Peruvian Amazon people can successfully raise stingless bees and healthily harvest the hives. The honey may be used for medicine and food preservation and currency to trade for other needed goods. The stingless bees have valuable products to contribute, and that is why there is such a collective effort to see this come to fruition.
Harvesting Hives
As with any bee species, harvesting honey from hives should be done with care. Most people do not want to walk up to a hive and extract the honey without knowledge or experience. There are great companies specializing in beehive removal, and the purpose is to relocate the hive to another area without damaging the hive. One should never swing at a hive or try to knock it down. The hive would be destroyed in doing so, and you would have lots of angry bees on your hands! Call a bee removal company and make sure they use an approach that allows the bees to keep doing their jobs. Some bee companies may use harsh chemicals, and all this does is kill the bees, and it can be toxic to other plants and flowers in the area.
Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem through the products they produce and their important role in pollination. It is critical to harvest and move hives without destroying them. Many in the United States have taken up beekeeping as a hobby. You may drive down the road and see some boxes stacked. There are likely some bees living there. As more is known about keeping bees, beekeepers have successfully learned how to raise their own bees, using systems to easily extract the honey and by-products of the bees with minimal disruption. Using this existing knowledge about raising bees and modifying it to work in the Amazon has the potential to create safe homes for stingless bees. Allowing stingless bees to live happily is beneficial to both the bees and the keepers. If you are considering raising your own bees, contact a reputable bee company in your area. Often, they have education classes or may be able to connect you with information to get started.
