Quality of Honey Produced by Four Species Of Stingless Bees in the Central Region of the State of Tocantins

Abstract

Meliponiculture, the rational breeding of native stingless bees, is considered an excelente sustainable alternative to assist in the pollination process and is an economically viable activity. In the cerrado of Tocantins, the meliponine species that stand out most due to their wide distribution are: Scaptotrigona tubiba, Melipona fasciculata,M. rufiventris and Tetragonisca angustula. The bibliographic collection about these species is still little explored, hence there is a need for research to deepen the existing knowledge in the area. For this reason, the aim of this study was: a) to quantify the honey production of four meliponine species: T. angustula, M. fasciculata, M. rufiventris, and S. tubiba; b) to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the product; c) measure the biological parameters of the colony and d) evaluate the profile and sensory acceptance of honey in the municipalities, Palmas and Miracema, in the Tocantins. The study evaluated the biological parameters of the colony, honey production, and physicochemical analysis. The highest honey production came from the species T. angustula in the two collections for the municipality of Palmas. For Miracema, the species S. tubiba and M. fasciculata were evaluated, respectively. The physicochemical parameters evaluated fit the norms assigned to honey quality control. Results showed that honey from M. fasciculata was the sensory profile that obtained the best average among the characteristics observed in the study. There was a positive and negative correlation between the biological parameters, with a significant difference only between the characters’ height and diameter of the honey pot.