African Stingless Bee
Meliponula ferruginea
A medium-sized stingless bee species widespread across East African forests and woodlands, including parts of Kenya and Tanzania, known for producing a distinctive honey rich in the sugar trehalulose. Like other Meliponini it lacks a functional sting and instead relies on biting and resin-based nest defences.
Species
Meliponini
Family
Apidae
Climate requirements
Found in a broader range of wooded and forest-edge habitats than the more forest-restricted Meliponula bocandei, tolerating moderately drier woodland alongside humid forest, which makes it somewhat more flexible for meliponiculture across Kenya's mid-altitude agroforestry zones.
Husbandry guide
Colonises simple top-bar hives and catcher boxes readily, and experimental hives hoisted roughly two metres up on trees have shown good occupancy rates, making it comparatively easier to domesticate from wild swarms than some other stingless species. Honey is harvested from wax-resin honey pots rather than comb, typically by hand-extraction, and yields remain modest relative to honey bees, reflecting the smaller colony sizes typical of Meliponini. Its calm temperament and adaptability to constructed hive boxes make it a favoured candidate species in East African meliponiculture development programmes.
Economic importance
Its honey is valued locally for distinct flavour and traditional medicinal uses, fetching premium prices in niche markets and supporting supplementary household income for farmers who combine it with conventional honey bee keeping.