Tetragonula iridipennis Smith is the most abundant stingless bee in India. Tetragonula-keeping (Meliponiculture) for colony and honey makes it profitable because of weedy propagation in stingless bees. For the rearing of stingless bees, seven hive models (wooden box, rectangular wooden box, bamboo logs, PVC hive, mud pot, coconut shell) with different dimensions were chosen. Out of seven, the bamboo logs with a 30cm length and cavity diameter of 6.5 – 7.5 cm showed better brood development, less pest and diseases and also easy honey extraction. The standard brood transfer method of colony capturing is easy to follow in abandoned house walls, iron pipes, etc. Feral colonies present in the undisturbed habitat like living houses, wells, etc., are transferred by eduction method with substratum like plastic bottles, mud pots and coconut shells with plastic tubes as temporary hive setups. Furtherance of colony transfer happens in coconut shells with better colony development and speedy separation within two months interval. The count of stingless bee colonies is reducing due to lack of nesting habitat as the traditional human living habits (mud house, huts, etc.) are depleting. Its quite challenging to transfer the colony from feral nest to the domesticating hive. In this study, different hive models were used to transfer and domesticate the feral colonies with minimal duration which will help the beekeepers and researchers in domestication.

Tetragonula, colony separation, eduction, hive models

The aforementioned strategies were effective in the domestication of colonies, appropriate conservation, and ensuring the survival of Tetragonula colonies. Among the various techniques, wooden boxes performed well in terms of brood development, easy honey harvesting, and pest and disease resistance. The rate of domestication was good when colonies relocated from pillars to pots with plastic bottles, and it was even better when colonies were transferred from wall to coconut shell.

B. Saai Vignesh, B. Anujaa, K. Suresh, R. Elamparithi, S. Selvakumar and R. Ramesh Kumar (2023). Domestication, Proliferation and Hive Modelling of Feral Stingless Bee (Tetragonula iridipennis Smith) Colonies. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(8): 263-266.