| Rational breeding of stingless bees (or meliponines) is called meliponiculture. In Brazil, studies related to meliponiculture are recent, developed with regional bees. The objective of the study was to elaborate a diagnosis of meliponiculture in Rio Grande do Sul. The data were collected in two stages, the first, through a survey carried out with the extension technicians Emater-RS, and the second, with data collected in a statistically significant sample from the beekeepers. The results show that there are 16,209 families involved in the activity, which have stingless bee hives in their establishment; the number of meliponine hives on rural properties in the state is 80,054 thousand, predominantly in the Northwest mesoregion. The profile of beekeepers is... |
