2026 International Symposium on Stingless Bees – IBRA Webinar

Abstract

The 2026 International Symposium on Stingless Bees is organized as a Webinar by the International Bee Research Association (IBRA). In my capacity as the Chair of IBRA, I welcome all researchers working hard for this Symposium, either presenting their work or presenting and organizing the event. Research on stingless bees is increasingly important because these bees play major ecological, agricultural, economic, and scientific roles, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. They are contributors to biodiversity, providers of valuable bee products, and models for studying social evolution. Unlike some managed pollinators, stingless bees are native to many tropical regions and can be reared locally. This is particularly valuable for smallholder farmers in tropical countries. As environmental pressures increase worldwide, understanding and conserving stingless bees can help protect ecosystems, strengthen sustainable agriculture, and support food security for future generations. Furthermore, stingless bee honey is highly prized for its unique flavor and medicinal properties as often contains unique bioactive substances that differ from those found in honey produced by Western honey bee. The 62 abstracts of 189 authors we received are from 26 countries. This is a remarkable number of researchers and participants showing great interest in stingless bees’ research and stingless bees’ products. An outstanding part of this symposium are the Young Researcher Awards, which are named after leading scientists in diverse disciplines of stingless bees’ research: P Vit-Olivier in Pot-Honey Science, C Cervancia in Pollination by Stingless Bees, MZ Mustafa in Meliponitherapy, Father JS Moure in Taxonomy of Stingless Bees, and OM Barth in Palynology of Stingless Bees; as well as in Stingless Bee Biology. This Symposium was inspired by the scientific conferences of the Founder and first Director of the International Bee Research Association IBRA –Dr. Eva Crane (1912–2007), the Bee Lady– A woman in science, renowned beekeeper, author, and scholar. One of the most prominent bee writers of the 20th century. She discovered that bees are responsible for pollinating at least 40% of our food crops. Her discoveries and contributions on beekeeping and bee science were influential for the successful IBRA Conferences in Tropical Climates. A delicate and wise focusing on the climate and tropical ecology for bees. The IBRA International Conferences were initially on Apiculture in Tropical Climates, and then on Tropical Bees: 1976 London, UK; 1980 New Delhi, India; 1984 Nairobi, Kenya; 1988 Cairo, Egypt; 1992 Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago; 1996 Heredia, Costa Rica; 2000 Chiang Mai, Thailand; and 2004 Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. We continued, much later endorsing the 2024 International Symposium on Stingless Bees organized by Professor Patricia Vit, –the Honey Lady and Founder of ISSB– at Universidad de Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela, as a memorial to honor the legacy of Professor JMF Camargo (1941–2009) from Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, and the 2025 International Symposium on Stingless Bees organized in Bicol, Philippines by Professor Amelia Nicolas at Central Bicol State University of Agriculture.