Safeguarding Amazonian stingless bees

We are developing the first large-scale stingless bee distribution mapping initiative in the Peruvian Amazon.

Building on our published pilot research, this work maps species richness, nesting trees, and habitat distribution to understand population trends and the impacts of deforestation and climate change. The data will guide science-based reforestation practices by identifying key nesting species and forest types critical for bee survival.

This initiative lays the foundation for the first proposed stingless bee conservation corridor in the Pan-Amazon region - beginning in Peru and expanding toward Bolivia, Colombia, and Brazil - strengthening landscape-scale pollinator protection.

We are integrating biochemical research with Indigenous knowledge to understand the medicinal value of stingless bees and their honey.

In collaboration with Dr. Cesar Delgado (IIAP), we conducted the first chemical analysis of stingless bee honey in the Peruvian Amazon, identifying biologically active compounds that support its traditional medicinal uses. This research is now expanding with Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas.

We are also are documenting traditional uses, ecological relationships, and emerging threats - elevating ancestral medicine through rigorous scientific validation and co-authorship with Indigenous knowledge holders.

We strengthen sustainable livelihoods while regenerating the Amazon Rainforest.

Through Indigenous-led bee sanctuaries, capacity-building programs - including the first female-focused initiative, Las Meliponicultoras - and the development of the first multilingual beekeeping manual, we integrate scientific guidance with Indigenous practice.

Women, youth, and community leaders are trained in sustainable beekeeping, habitat restoration, and ethical enterprise development, linking pollinator conservation to territorial resilience.

Meliponiculture becomes both ecological infrastructure and economic sovereignty.

Our science and Indigenous-led documentation have informed national policy milestones in Peru.

This includes Law 32235 (2025), recognizing stingless bees as a native species of Peru, and the first municipal legal recognition of the rights of an insect in Satipo and Nauta. Stingless bees are now included in Peru’s National Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, with regulatory frameworks under way.

Science, territory, and Indigenous leadership together are shaping a new governance model for pollinator protection.

Co-led between Amazon Research Internacional, Earth Law Center, Reserva Comunal Ashaninka, EcoAshaninka and Kukama-Kukamiria communities

In collaboration with the Baldock Laboratory at Northumbria University (UK), we are studying the pollination services of stingless bees in coffee systems.

This research quantifies how native pollinators contribute to crop productivity and agroecological resilience. By measuring the economic and ecological value of stingless bees in agricultural landscapes, we generate evidence to support biodiversity-friendly farming practices and long-term food security.

Pollination research strengthens the case for conserving native bees.

In partnership with the Ramsey Laboratory at the University of Colorado Boulder, we are investigating parasites and emerging threats impacting stingless bees.

As climate change and habitat fragmentation intensify, disease dynamics are shifting. This research examines parasite prevalence and ecological stressors to better understand bee vulnerability and inform preventative conservation strategies.

Protecting stingless bees requires not only habitat protection — but proactive understanding of health risks.