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Título del libro: Pot-Honey: A Legacy Of Stingless Bees
Título del capítulo: Mexican stingless bees (hymenoptera: Apidae): Diversity, distribution, and indigenous knowledge

Autores UNAM:
RICARDO AYALA BARAJAS;
Autores externos:

Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2013
Resumen:

Stingless bees (Apinae: Meliponini) are highly eusocial apine bees commonly encountered in tropical and subtropical areas of the world but are more diverse in the Western Hemisphere. In Mexico, stingless bees represent a relatively small fraction (2.6%) of the large bee fauna of the country, but the economic, social, and cultural impacts they have are like no other in the world. When compared to other countries with more diverse stingless bee faunas, a large percentage (41.3%) of the total number of Mexican stingless bees are exploited by indigenous people in the country at least since pre-Colombian times and possibly well before. Stingless bees played a significant role in Mayan religious views and today they are directly or indirectly used for diverse purposes, including managed pollination, medicine, crafts, and folk art; while honey, wax, and pollen are regularly extracted and sold, thus providing an important source of income for indigenous and non-indigenous populations. Herein, we summarize the diversity, distribution, origin, and traditional uses of the stingless bees in Mexico. We also discuss the challenges and future directions for the study and conservation of this important lineage of bees. © 2013 Springer New York. All rights are reserved.


Entidades citadas de la UNAM: