The Secret of the Stingless Bee

Stingless wasp.
As the name suggests, They do not sting like honeybees because their stingers have degenerated. It is a small bee with a body length of about 3 to 10 mm.

Although bees are not familiar in Japan, there are about 400 to 500 species that live in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, and it is said that there are about 35 species of stingless bees on the Malaysian island of Borneo alone.



Stingless bees build their nests in trees or rocks to protect themselves from predators.
The nests themselves are not the familiar hexagonal honeycomb structure, but are made of a resin-derived propolis called "honeypots (pollen pots)," and are complex structures consisting of countless connected brown, round pots.

Because honey pots store nectar and pollen, propolis is naturally dissolved into honey that has been aged in honey pots.

Stingless bee honey, which contains polyphenols derived from propolis, is dark and has a sweet and sour taste. It has a lower sugar content than regular honey, so it is not too sweet. It is smooth enough that you can drink it directly from the hive with a straw, and it is resistant to crystallization, making it easy to absorb.

In addition, because it contains a lot of the rare sugar "trehalulose" and has a low GI value, it has been known to have health benefits such as "preventing sudden spikes in blood sugar levels," "regulating the intestinal environment," and "preventing tooth decay," and has been attracting attention from around the world in recent years. It is Malaysia's first superfood, certified by the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and research institutes.




Stingless bees are a common sight in Malaysia, often seen in cities and forests alike. They are important pollinators for the rainforest. By utilizing their abilities in agriculture, farmers can expect to improve their yields while also obtaining honey as a by-product.

Also, unlike regular bees, they do not have stingers and do not sting, as their name suggests, which made them easy to introduce, and they spread along with the beekeeping techniques that had been cultivated on a small scale in some areas until then.

Stingless bees produce honey that is good for your body, are useful for agriculture, and are also important to the environment. Beekeeping has given local people a chance to reevaluate the value of the natural environment around them.