🔍 Stingless Bee | Trigona sp. 🐝
📍 Grecia, Alajuela, Costa Rica 🇨🇷
💬 Stingless bees are nature’s tiny powerhouses — they’ve been managed by indigenous Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years for their medicinal honey! Unlike honeybees, they defend their hives by biting rather than stinging, and some species use sticky resin to trap intruders.
Fauna
Stingless Bee | Meliponini
Basic ID
Conservation Status
Not individually assessed; colony health of concern
Coloration
Black body with yellow or amber markings; some species entirely black
Lifespan
Workers: 30–60 days; Queens: up to 3 years
Size
Length
3–14 mm depending on species
Weight
less than 1 g
Wingspan
Habitat & Behavior
Native Range
Tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia
Habitat Type
Tropical forests, gardens, urban green spaces
Diet
Nectar, pollen, plant resins
Activity Pattern
Diurnal
Sources: IUCN Red List · Encyclopedia of Life · GBIF · Catalogue of Life