Colony losses of stingless bees in Latin America increase in agricultural areas, but decrease in forested areas

Stingless bees (tribe Meliponini) are native to tropical and subtropical regions and have been managed for centuries, primarily for their honey and propolis, which serve both nutritional and medicinal purposes. They hold significant ecological, economic, and cultural value for native communities. Despite numerous potential risk factors identified as likely affecting these species, data on stingless bee colony losses and their drivers are scarce. We performed a large-scale questionnaire-based survey of colony losses of managed stingless bees in Latin America from 2016 to 2021. Based on responses from 472 participants, we found an average stingless bee colony loss of 43.4 % annually, 33.3 % during the rainy season, and 22.0 % during the dry season. We found that colony losses during the rainy season decreased with higher forested cover and increased with higher agricultural cover around meliponaries. Moreover, annual colony losses also decreased with higher forested cover. Interestingly, the positive effects of forested cover on colony survival outweighed the negative effects associated with agricultural cover. Meliponiculturists’ perceptions aligned with these empirical trends by identifying environmental factors as key drivers of colony losses. Moreover, meliponiculturists perceiving their losses of high importance lost around 40 % of their colonies annually. Our results underscore the dual importance of forest conservation and targeted research efforts in supporting Latin American meliponiculturists in reducing colony losses. These actions could contribute to the conservation of wild stingless bee populations in tropical landscapes, directly through supporting habitat availability and indirectly by potentially maintaining genetic diversity.