University Promotes Cultivation of Gourmet Honey
It’s common to see beekeepers dressed in special suits to avoid bee stings while handling hives and extracting honey. But a new type of production—one that can be managed without any personal protective equipment—is gaining ground in Mato Grosso do Sul.
This is meliponiculture, the production of honey from stingless bees.
The State University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS) campus in Aquidauana, a city 141 kilometers from Campo Grande, promotes this practice for three main reasons:
- Higher-value honey
- Easy handling and management
- Environmental preservation
"The environment benefits because of pollination. These bees collect pollen from various flowers and facilitate genetic exchange, helping maintain biodiversity—especially here in our Pantanal region," said Cristiane Mendonça, a professor in the agronomy program.
She also highlights that honey from stingless bees like jataí, manduri, and iraí is considered gourmet due to its unique flavor, making it a sought-after product in gastronomy.
Medicinal properties are also attributed to stingless bee honey. According to the professor, research suggests its use for patients with stomach issues like gastritis and colitis, and even as a supplementary treatment for glaucoma, an eye disease.
Stingless bees are much smaller than those of the Apis family (like Apis mellifera), the most common type found in apiaries.
As a result, honey production is also much lower.
While an Apis hive produces an average of 3 liters of honey, a stingless bee hive yields, at most, 600 ml. Harvesting is done using a syringe.
This small scale even allows these bees to be kept as pets.
Caring for a hive of stingless bees—which pose no risk of stings—can be a great form of therapy, the professor noted.
Maintenance is simple: the bees only need a mixture of water with protein and carbohydrates (sugar) for nourishment. The mixture is placed in a plastic cup with toothpicks to provide support and prevent the bees from drowning.
Under Brazilian law, no industrial establishment or animal product processing facility may operate without prior registration with the relevant regulatory agency.
These products must also be properly labeled, specifying details such as the establishment’s classification, official inspection, and other intrinsic product characteristics.
In 2022, the East Pantanal Beekeepers Association (Alespana) submitted a proposal to the state government and is still awaiting approval to legalize the activity.