Stingless bees... You read that right! However, they are native to tropical and some subtropical regions of the world and are therefore not known in Europe. They also exist in Nicaragua; a total of 94 species have been identified in this country. The honey of many of these wild bee species has been used medicinally for thousands of years and probably already played a role in the Mayan culture.
Of course, native wild bees cannot be missing from our sustainable and species-rich cocoa and food forest. They are essential for biological biodiversity because they ensure the natural pollination of wild and cultivated plants and thus secure food sources for birds, mammals and other living beings.
Thanks to a Nicaraguan initiative that deals with meliponiculture (that's the technical term for the breeding of stingless bees), we made around 30 "bee traps" out of old plastic bottles with the support of Jose, who traveled to us for a whole day. We put them on several parts around the house and placed them in the garden and in the forest. To attract the bees, we prepared the darkened bottles with feromones.
And we were lucky: after just two days, the first bees flew in to scout out one of the bottles right on the terrace as a future home. They seemed to like it and soon the hard-working individuals began working on the new home and preparing it for the queen's arrival. She soon came with the rest of the swarm. In the evening all the bees suddenly disappeared into the new nest and the entrance was sealed with wax until the next morning.
After about two months, the bees can be relocated to a specially made bee box in our meliponarium. Then there will provide more interesting information about our new companions.
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