Full List of Chapters and Authors:
PART I
Origin, Biodiversity and Behavior of the Stingless Bees (Meliponini)
1 The Meliponini - p3
Charles D. Michener
2 Historical Biogeography of the Meliponini (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apinae) of the Neotropical Region - p19
João Maria Franco de Camargo†
3 Australian Stingless Bees - p35
Megan Halcroft, Robert Spooner-Hart, and Anne Dollin
4 Stingless Bees from Venezuela - p73
Silvia R.M. Pedro and João Maria Franco de Camargo
5 Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Meliponini) of French Guiana - p87
Alain Pauly, Silvia R.M. Pedro, Claus Rasmussen, and David W. Roubik
6 Stingless Bees of Guatemala - p99
Carmen Lucía Yurrita Obiols and Mabel Vásquez
7 Stingless Bees of Costa Rica - p113
Ingrid Aguilar, Eduardo Herrera, and Gabriel Zamora
8 Stingless Bees in Argentina - p125
Arturo Roig-Alsina, Favio Gerardo Vossler, and Gerardo Pablo Gennari
9 Mexican Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Diversity, Distribution, and Indigenous Knowledge - p135
Ricardo Ayala, Victor H. Gonzalez, and Michael S. Engel
10 The Role of Useful Microorganisms to Stingless Bees and Stingless Beekeeping - p153
Cristiano Menezes, Ayrton Vollet-Neto, Felipe Andrés Felipe León Contrera, Giorgio Cristino Venturieri, and Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca
11 Microorganisms Associated with Stingless Bees - p173
Paula B. Morais, Paula S. São Thiago Calaça, and Carlos Augusto Rosa
12 Stingless Bee Food Location Communication: From the Flowers to the Honey Pots - p187
Daniel Sánchez and Rémy Vandame
13 On the Diversity of Foraging-Related Traits in Stingless Bees - p201
Michael Hrncir and Camila Maia-Silva
Part II
Stingless Bees in Culture, Traditions and Environment
14 Stingless Bees: A Historical Perspective - p219
Richard Jones
15 Medicinal Uses of Melipona beecheii Honey, by the Ancient Maya - p229
Genoveva R. Ocampo Rosales
16 Staden’s First Report in 1557 on the Collection of Stingless Bee Honey by Indians in Brazil - p241
Wolf Engels
17 Melipona Bees in the Scientific World: Western Cultural Views - p247
Raquel Barceló Quintal and David W. Roubik
18 Taxonomy as a Tool for Conservation of African Stingless Bees and Their Honey - p261
Connal Eardley and Peter Kwapong
19 Effects of Human Disturbance and Habitat Fragmentation on Stingless Bees - p269
Virginia Meléndez Ramírez, Laura Meneses Calvillo, and Peter G. Kevan
Part III
What Plants Are Used by the Stingless Bees?
20 Palynology Serving the Stingless Bees - p285
Ortrud Monika Barth
21 How to Be a Bee-Botanist Using Pollen Spectra - p295
David W. Roubik and Jorge Enrique Moreno Patiño
22 Important Bee Plants for African and Other Stingless Bees - p315
Robert Kajobe
23 Botanical Origin of Pot-Honey from Tetragonisca angustula Latreille in Colombia - p337
Diana Obregón, Ángela Rodríguez-C, Fermín J. Chamorro, and Guiomar Nates-Parra
Part IV
Sensory Attributes and Composition of Pot-Honey
24 Sensory Evaluation of Stingless Bee Pot-Honey - p349
Rosires Deliza and Patricia Vit
25 Melipona favosa Pot-Honey from Venezuela - p363
Patricia Vit
26 Tetragonisca angustula Pot-Honey Compared to Apis mellifera Honey from Brazil - p375
Ligia Bicudo de Almeida-Muradian
27 Honey of Colombian Stingless Bees: Nutritional Characteristics and Physicochemical Quality Indicators - p383
Carlos Alberto Fuenmayor, Amanda Consuelo Díaz-Moreno, Carlos Mario Zuluaga-Domínguez, and Martha Cecilia Quicazán
28 The Pot-Honey of Guatemalan Bees - p395
María José Dardón, Carlos Maldonado-Aguilera, and Eunice Enríquez
29 Pot-Honey of Six Meliponines from Amboró National Park, Bolivia - p409
Urbelinda Ferrufino and Patricia Vit
30 An Electronic Nose and Physicochemical Analysis to Differentiate Colombian Stingless Bee Pot-Honey - p417
Carlos Mario Zuluaga-Domínguez, Amanda Consuelo Díaz-Moreno, Carlos Alberto Fuenmayor, and Martha Cecilia Quicazán
31 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as a Method to Predict the Geographical and Entomological Origin of Pot-Honey - p429
Elisabetta Schievano, Stefano Mammi, and Ileana Menegazzo
32 Nonaromatic Organic Acids of Honeys - p447
María Teresa Sancho, Inés Mato, José F. Huidobro, Miguel Angel Fernández-Muiño, and Ana Pascual-Maté
Part V
Biological Properties
33 Flavonoids in Stingless-Bee and Honey-Bee Honeys - p461
Francisco A. Tomás-Barberán, Pilar Truchado, and Federico Ferreres
34 Antioxidant Activity of Pot-Honey - p475
Antonio Jesús Rodríguez-Malaver
35 Use of Honey in Cancer Prevention and Therapy - p481
Patricia Vit, Jun Qing Yu, and Fazlul Huq
36 Bioactivity of Honey and Propolis of Tetragonula laeviceps in Thailand - p495
Chanpen Chanchao
37 Costa Rican Pot-Honey: Its Medicinal Use and Antibacterial Effect - p507
Gabriel Zamora, María Laura Arias, Ingrid Aguilar, and Eduardo Umaña
38 Immunological Properties of Bee Products - p513
José Angel Cova
39 Chemical Properties of Propolis Collected by Stingless Bees - p525
Omur Gençay Çelemli
Part VI
Marketing and Standards of Pot-Honey
40 Production and Marketing of Pot-Honey - p541
Rogério Marcos de Oliveira Alves
Appendix A Taxonomic Index of Bees - p557
Appendix B List of Bee Taxa - p569
Appendix C Common Names of Stingless Bees - p581
Appendix D Taxonomic Index of Plant Families - p585
Appendix E List of Plant Taxa Used by Bees - p597
Appendix F Common Names of Plants Used for Nesting by Stingless Bees - p615
Appendix G Common Names of Medicinal Plants Used with Honey by Mayas - p617
Appendix H Microorganisms Associated to Stingless Bees or Used to Test Antimicrobial Activity - p619
Appendix I Summary of Meliponine and Apis Honey Composition - p623
Appendix J Information of Collected Stingless Bees - p627
Index - p629