Indigenous knowledge on ground-nesting stingless bees in southwestern Ethiopia

While Ethiopia has several species of stingless bees, indigenous knowledge on them has not been well documented. Here, we document the indigenous knowledge of the Sheka community in southwestern Ethiopia on stingless bees. We used the snowball sampling technique to locate 60 experienced honey collectors, conducted semi-structured interviews, and complemented interviews with field observations during honey collection trips with interviewees. Honey collectors did not collect honey from aboveground nesting stingless bees, but only from stingless bees nesting belowground. To find the underground nests in the field, honey collectors used several methods, including direct observation of nest entrances and worker bee movement, attaching a thread to the worker bee, and listening for the humming sound of the bee’s natural enemy (wasp). Nests were harvested destructively. Interestingly, a single farmer kept ground-nesting stingless bee colonies at his backyard using uniquely tailored squared box hives. Collected honey is used for home consumption, disease treatment, and the generation of income. Our findings illustrate the deep indigenous knowledge of the Sheka community on wild ground-nesting stingless bees. To facilitate the establishment of stingless bee beekeeping (meliponiculture) in the study area, we may build upon this indigenous knowledge by field research on the biology of stingless bees, taxonomic studies to assess the diversity and identity of ground-nesting stingless bees, and engineering studies to develop beekeeping practices. Together, this may allow for better income for local farmers and avoid the risk of overexploitation of wild stingless bee nests.