The purpose of the Fundecitrus meliponary, installed on the lawn of its headquarters, is to contribute to the preservation of bees. It is part of a project that assesses, through field experiments, the coexistence between citriculture and beekeeping.
The meliponary houses four species of bees. Each occupies a box of a different shape, which seeks to recreate environmental settings and conditions where they make their hives in nature. For example, vertical boxes are for bees that live inside tree trunks, whereas horizontal boxes are for bees that prefer trunks fallen on the ground. The place is surrounded by lavender, a plant rich in nectar and that attracts bees.
The bees of the meliponary are stingless or have vestigial stings, and are as follows
Jataí (Tetragonisca angustula): forms colonies of 2,000 to 5,000 bees. Builds nests in hollow spaces. Produces relatively acidic and fruity honey.
Uruçu-amarela (Melipona rufiventris): endangered species, lives in hot and humid regions. Bittersweet, floral honey, and/or with herbal notes.
Iraí (Nannotrigona testaceicornes): small and very tame, forming colonies of 2,000 to 3,000 bees. Builds nests in hollow spaces. Sweet, fruity honey with notes of resin.
Mirim-preguiça (Friesella Schrottkyi): colonies of 300 to 2,500 bees. Small and tame, it gets its name from working only in the hottest hours of the day.
Among pollinators, bees are the most important ones for all life on Earth: without them we would lose approximately 70 percent of the food that is pollinated by their species. In citrus, 80 percent of visits are made by bees, attracted by the perfume and abundance of the nectar of flowers. Orange honey is more widely accepted due to its light color and mild flavor.
Large honey production in the Citrus Belt. According to IBGE data, more than 80 percent of the honey produced in the state of São Paulo comes from citrus growing cities. In this region, the increase in honey production from 2000 to 2016 was much higher (+136 percent) than in cities outside the citrus belt (+72 percent).
