meliponine
Meliponine refers to the stingless bees of the tribe Melipini within the family Apidae. Also called stingless bees, they are eusocial insects that, unlike honeybees, lack functional stingers. Meliponines comprise numerous genera and species distributed primarily in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa, and parts of Asia.
These bees inhabit a variety of nesting sites, including hollow trees, crevices in rocks or termite mounds,
Behaviorally, meliponines defend their nests but do not deliver the powerful sting associated with honeybees. They
Humans have long kept some meliponine species in traditional meliponiculture, particularly in Latin America and parts