Stingless bees form a distinct group related to the honey bees. They range from about two millimetres long to species a little larger than the western honey bee. Their sting is reduced and useless, so they defend the nest by biting, with sticky resin and, above all, in numbers.
They live in the tropics and subtropics around the world: most species are in the Americas, followed by Asia, Africa and Australia. Some 500–600 species have been described, and new ones keep being added.
Most nest in tree hollows, walls, the ground or termite mounds. They build with cerumen, a blend of wax and plant resin. Brood is reared in cells kept apart from the stores, and honey and pollen go into distinctive rounded pots. The entrance is often the only visible part of the nest, and each species builds its own: anything from a long tube to a hole just wide enough for one bee.
Their honey is thinner and more acidic than that of the western honey bee, with a higher water content. A colony yields only about 1–5 kilograms a year depending on the species, often less. People therefore prize it as a rarity, and many cultures value it as a medicine.
Keeping stingless bees, known as meliponiculture, has a long tradition among the Maya, in Brazil, in Africa and in Southeast Asia. In Australia their honey is called sugarbag and has seen a recent boom.