Expanding ethnobiological and ethnomedicinal insights on stingless bees: cultural importance, uses, and meliponiculture practices across four states of South India

Meliponiculture has long been an integral part of the social, economic, and religious traditions of many indigenous and ethnic communities around the world, including those in India. Stingless bees play a crucial role in tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems, where they contribute significantly to agricultural production through pollination and support biodiversity conservation. Several indigenous communities in South India practice traditional meliponiculture and utilize stingless bees and their products for ethno-medicinal purposes, food, and a variety of other cultural and economic use. Ethnobiological surveys were conducted across 13 districts in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Goa between May 2024 and June 2025. Using snowball sampling, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 79 respondents representing 15 ethnic communities to document traditional stingless bee management practices and the medicinal, nutritional, cultural, and other uses of stingless bee products. We documented 44 distinct uses of stingless bees and their products, which were grouped into eight major categories: food, medicine, veterinary medicine, crafts, spiritual beliefs, religious rituals, cosmetics, and plant growth promotion. The Relative Cultural Importance (RCI) of stingless bees among the ethnic communities of South India was also assessed. Among the communities surveyed, the Brahmin community exhibited the highest RCI, followed by the Kunbi community, reflecting their strong cultural association with stingless bees. Most communities rely on destructive methods to harvest stingless bee products; however, the Brahmin community practices sustainable meliponiculture using traditional hives made from coconut shells, bamboo poles, mud pots, and hollow logs. Notably, our informants reported, for the first time, the use of stingless bee pollen as a traditional treatment for sac brood disease in Asian honeybees, representing a potentially valuable contribution to ethnoveterinary knowledge and sustainable apicultural practices. This study expands the documentation of traditional stingless bee knowledge across diverse communities in South India and identifies opportunities for sustainable meliponiculture. The findings support community-based training in non-destructive harvesting, the adoption of locally appropriate hive technologies, and improved processing and marketing of stingless bee products to support rural livelihoods and pollinator conservation. Further investigation of the newly documented medicinal and agricultural applications is recommended.