by Pablo Fajardo and Frank van Steenbergen
The biodiversity epicenter that is the Amazon is reflected in the almost endless number of species of bees. They play a major role in the cross pollination of the Amazon’s diversity of trees species, with several bee species uniquely specializing in specific trees.
Most of the bees in the Amazon belong to families of stingless bees, such as Melipona, Trigona sp, Tetragonisca angustula. The latter are lovingly called angel bees – for all the goodness they bring. The honey of the angel bees is high in nourishment but also very high in anti-inflammatory properties, comparable to the famous Manuka honey from New Zealand that has many medical applications. The medicinal properties of all the different species of Amazon bees need to be further documented, but traditional knowledge has it that certain honeys are very effective for certain ailments, such as eye diseases and respiratory defects. The working is said to come from resin of the trees that the bees visit. Having said so, some of the many types of local honey have toxicity.
The value of bees in the Amazon, the honey they produce, and other products is enormous but not much recognized. Bee colonies reside in trees or nest in the soil. They are sometimes equated with insect pests and destroyed by the many newly settling farmers in the Amazon by burning or other ways. This is a major threat to the stingless bees and the biodiversity they are part of and which they support.
Bring in here the work of the bee protection team of the UDAPT, the organization of the population in the Amazon in Ecuador effected by the oil pollution of Texaco/Chevron that contaminated land and wells and has been associated with a spike in cancer cases.
The UDAPT bee protection team works tirelessly to preserve the wild bee colonies. When they receive a report of a bee swarm they go and carefully capture the colony, be it from cracks in the ground and from the woodwork of houses. They carefully house them in the purpose-built beehives – essentially a box in which a series of frames can be placed or in hives that consist of the vertical stack of round frames. Each box has its own shape and dimension tailored to the need of the specific bee species. Also, stingless bees do not make honeycombs like the common honeybee (Apis mellifera), but they build capsules in which the honey is deposited and ferments. The honey is carefully taken out by the beekeeper with an injection needle.
The bee team tries to combine the creation of livelihood with the preservation of vital and productive biodiversity and the provision of medicine. The genus of stingless bees is still largely undocumented. In the Ecuador Amazon alone there are an estimated 50 to 60 species – much more than the regular honeybees, of which there are globally only 10 species. To move forward the work needs to continue with bee colonies that are being threatened by place them in safe places. This may be combined by documenting and studying the different types of bees that exist in the area, analyze their benefits, services, preferred food. This would support local ecology and create a stronger basis for developing different products produced by bees, including honey, pollen and wax, and also better catalogue the medicines they support. It would help combine local business and care for nature and health.
Watch a video of the Melipona’s hive here.
