Animals

Saving Stingless Bees

Over 47 different kinds of stingless honeybees live in Mexico.

The bees’ floral honey is prized for its unique flavor and medicinal properties. Just 8 ounce sells for fifty dollars or more.

Once an important part of ancient Mayan culture, these bees are on the verge of extinction due to pesticides, deforestation, and harmful beekeeping practices.

Without stingers, they’re unable to protect themselves from predators, including humans.

But these endangered creatures do have a protector—Efrain Cab, a construction worker and 3rd generation beekeeper who runs a hotline for stingless bees in need.

In his free time, Cab rescues hives from unwanted locations and lets them recuperate in his backyard bee hospital, and then relocates them to a hidden place in the middle of the Mayan jungle.

Cab’s knowledge of the bees was handed down in his family from his Mayan ancestors, knowledge he fears is being lost in the hustle and bustle of modern-day life and the expansion into the native habitats of Mexico.

Now he’s passing this information on to his young son, and inspiring others to fight for these small, essential creatures.

And this more hope, on Cosumel Island, where the Holistic Tikun retreat and bee conservation sanctuary, is teaching visitors how to protect and preserve the precious stingless honeybees for future generations.