Melipona beecheii, "the sacred Mayan bee"

These bees endemic to the Yucatan are famous for the healing benefits of their honey.

The melipona bee is a stingless species that has been cultivated by the Mayan peoples for hundreds of years and they call it the “sacred Mayan bee”, due to the healing properties of its honey. Such is the importance of bees that the Mayans, in pre-Hispanic times, performed between four and six ceremonies a year in their honor.

The main characteristic of the melipona bee is that it does not have a stinger, but to defend its colony it "bites" everything that represents a threat, they cling in such a way that they die during combat.

Among the products that this little bee produces are honey, wax pollen, propolis, in addition to their valuable service as pollinators. A melipona hive produces a liter and a half of honey per year, its production process takes longer compared to that of European bees that produce up to 30 liters of honey in a year.

Although the production of honey is less, it is much more beneficial than honey from other bees since its medicinal properties help the immune system, in addition to being used to cure ailments, wounds, burns and diseases. In the cosmetic branch it is also highly appreciated, as it is used to create products such as soaps, creams and powders.

Melipona bee pollen has a protein value 50 percent higher than that of other bees. On the other hand, the use of stingless bees as pollinators of the following crops is known: achiote, avocado, coffee, pumpkin, chayote, habanero pepper, mango, cucumber, watermelon, tomato, among others.

Did you know that… melipona bees and their honey were subject to tax payment, both before and after the arrival of the Spanish.

For the Maya, honey has long been considered a sacred substance. Since antiquity, it has been used for medicinal purposes, in sacred rights, and more recently, as a sweetener. 

The Yucatán Peninsula is known around the world for the quality of its honey, produced by the 17 bee species that live in the Peninsula. Among them is the Melipona Beecheii bee.

The honey of this species, dubbed “the sacred Mayan bee,” is notable for its therapeutic qualities. Also known as the stingless bee, the Melipona beecheii can be differentiated from more common species by its small size and furry-looking body.

These bees generate approximately one liter of honey per year per colony, selecting flowers with antioxidant properties, hence the nutritional and healing value is incomparable.

All the products they make in their hive prevent and cure diseases, and help the entire immune system. The medicinal virtues have been known for centuries, it is in recent years that studies have been carried out by prestigious institutions, where they corroborate its curative value, demonstrating that it is an excellent way to restore health.

It is extremely important that the quality of the products is optimally preserved, for this reason, in times of drought we feed them with their own Melipona honey, and not with sugar or other honeys, thus guaranteeing that they are 100% pure.

Mayan medicine is comprehensive, it seeks the health and balance of the body, mind and spirit. The Mayans used the word kinam, which in their language means rigor, strength and strength, to indicate the healing power of Melipona beecheii honey. Melipona honey was considered a food of the sun, creative and regenerative.

The World Health Organization recognizes the value of this therapeutic practice as a safe and effective resource that can be accepted by national authorities in public health schemes. Rescuing ancestral recipes, we create some products made from honey, wax or pollen from Melipona beecheii and endemic medicinal plants.

Many doctors recommend honey from the melipona bee as an organic medicine, and a booster for the immune system. An example is Dr. Friedel Kneipp, a homeopathic surgeon, who comments that honey is the elixir of youth and bees, the great creators of life, thanks to its unique pollination system.