Cuban stingless bee livestock exhibit specialized floral resource use: a palynological study on honey samples from Matanzas and Mayabeque provinces

The knowledge of the different plant species that make up the feeding diet of animals is highly important to develop more efficient strategies. This research aimed to characterize the food potential available for the Cuban stingless bee livestock of the Matanzas and Mayabeque provinces. Palynological analysis was done using 60 g of pollen from sealed pots and 80 mL of honey from the ten randomly selected beehives (five in each province). The results showed that in the honey collected in Matanzas province, the most represented family was Amaranthaceae, followed by Myrtaceae and Fabaceae. Meanwhile, for Mayabeque, the most represented ones were the families Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. Regarding the stingless bee pollen of Matanzas provenance, the family Fabaceae prevailed, followed by Burseraceae and Myrtaceae. The pollen corresponding to Mayabeque coincided in showing Fabaceae as the most representative. In addition, pollen grains of small size (from 10 to 25 µm) were collected, with a marked representation of the pollen type of Mimosa pudica in the Mayabeque honey. It was concluded that the Cuban stingless bee livestock of the Matanzas and Mayabeque provinces had a specialist feeding behavior because a low number of plant taxa made up its diet

L’élevage des abeilles mélipones sur l’île de Cuba : une enquête ethnozoologique réalisée dans la plaine du río Mayabeque et la forêt de la Sierra del Rosario

In central America, stingless beekeeping is a practice older than two thousand years which reached its peak at the end of the Maya era. The melipona sub-family which these bees belong to gather more than 500 species mainly in the intertropical area. Most of them nest in cavities, in dead wood or underground, and have a liking for ombrophile forests where they provide the pollinisation of wild plantes in Cuba. There is only are single species (Melipona beecheii) probably introduced during the pre-colombian era, from genetic strains deriving from the Yucatan peninsula. In the countryside surrounding Havana, the melipona bees are still a vector of socialization, knowing their domestication often results from a familial tradition and is profitable to the beekeeper’s relatives. On the other hand, in the forest, honey is the fruit of gathering. For twenty years now people have been aware of the essential function of bees in the ecosystem and of the valuable services they are able to provide agriculture. This awareness has launched a quick evolution in the social representation of the insect. Thanks to this evolution the beekeepers’ profiles are becoming more diverse, traditions in beekeeping or gathering, weigh less heavily on practices, and the meliponiculture can be regarded as a space-time activity or even a trade one

L’élevage des abeilles mélipones sur l’île de Cuba : une enquête ethnozoologique réalisée dans la plaine du río Mayabeque et la forêt de la Sierra del Rosario

In central America, stingless beekeeping is a practice older than two thousand years which reached its peak at the end of the Maya era. The melipona sub-family which these bees belong to gather more than 500 species mainly in the intertropical area. Most of them nest in cavities, in dead wood or underground, and have a liking for ombrophile forests where they provide the pollinisation of wild plantes in Cuba. There is only are single species (Melipona beecheii) probably introduced during the pre-colombian era, from genetic strains deriving from the Yucatan peninsula. In the countryside surrounding Havana, the melipona bees are still a vector of socialization, knowing their domestication often results from a familial tradition and is profitable to the beekeeper’s relatives. On the other hand, in the forest, honey is the fruit of gathering. For twenty years now people have been aware of the essential function of bees in the ecosystem and of the valuable services they are able to provide agriculture. This awareness has launched a quick evolution in the social representation of the insect. Thanks to this evolution the beekeepers’ profiles are becoming more diverse, traditions in beekeeping or gathering, weigh less heavily on practices, and the meliponiculture can be regarded as a space-time activity or even a trade one