The stingless bees are an important group of bees that live in social colonies usually inside hollow trees. They have a queen, drones and many sterile worker bees, just like colonies of commercial honey bees do. However, unlike commercial honey bees, these bees do not sting.

The number of bees in a stingless bee colony can range from a few dozen to over 100,000. Most species of stingless bees have workers that are only a few millimetres in length. However, the largest stingless bee species, Melipona falvipennis, has workers slightly larger than a commercial honey bee worker.

Their nests are built from wax mixed with resins collected from trees. So they are often a browish colour. In the centre is a brood comb where the eggs are laid and around the edges are larger pots for storing the honey and pollen.

Because these bees are stingless, they have to find other ways to defend their nests. Usually they carefully seal up all openings in their nest chamber except for a small entrance hole, to keep out predators such as ants and flies.

Stingless bee honey is aromatic and tangy -- a gourmet delight! It is delicious drizzled over ice cream.

Stingless bee honey can have antibiotic properties. The Australian Aborigines used to prize stingless bee honey, or 'Sugarbag honey' as a bush medicine.

However, stingless bees make far less honey than commercial honey bees do. And you can do a lot of harm to a stingless bee nest if you break it open. As these bee are stingless, they rely on having a completely sealed up nest chamber to keep out predators.

Fortunately, stingless bees can be kept in hive designs that make harvesting honey easier and safer.

-- The Maya people of the Yacatan Peninsula in Mexico keep stingless bees in logs with removable limestone or timber end plugs to allow honey harvesting. This form of beekeeping in Mexico has a very long history -- limestone end plugs that may be as old as 300 BC have been found in archaeological digs.

-- Some wooden hive boxes used in Australia have a small additional hive compartment added to the top where the bees will store honey. This can be opened for honey harvesting without disturbing the rest of the colony.

Remember, though, that stingless bees are only found in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. So you need to live in one of these warm areas to be able to keep stingless bees and harvest their unique honey.

Price: $Aust 35.00 plus postage & handling
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Australian Stingless Bees by John Klumpp is a valuable handbook for anyone interested in keeping our native honeybees.

This detailed, easy-to-read book guides you through all aspects of the hobby -- from understanding the inner workings of your nest to caring for your own stingless bee or 'sugarbag' colony.

It covers the basic beekeeping techniques used in Australia today, but also features John Klumpp's own unique designs for hives and hive accessories.

Over 200 full colour photographs

Topics Included
- Stingless bee behaviour
- Queens, workers and drones
- How to find a nest in the bush
- Rescuing nests
- Tips on buying a hive
- Box designs
- Boxing a nest
- Splitting a hive
- Sugarbag honey
- Honey feeders
- Fighting swarms
- Pests and predators
- The cadaghi controversy
- Planting a bee-friendly garden
- Future of stingless beekeeping