Melipona scutellaris

It is considered the kept stingless bee with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast of Brazil, with records from Rio Grande do Norte south to Bahia.

A 1962 study found it lives in the humid Northeast along the whole coast, mainly in the Atlantic rainforest, though it may also occur in some inland areas of Pernambuco, Alagoas and Bahia.

In the state of Bahia it was recorded in 102 of 417 municipalities, at elevations from sea level up to 1,200 m.

Colonies at lower, warmer elevations had more individuals, while colonies at higher elevations were smaller and frequently built an involucrum around the brood.

These bees nest in cavities of usually large trees, so dry scrubby highland vegetation without such trees makes nest building harder for them.

On the coast of Bahia the species has been observed adapting by nesting in hollows of coconut palms.

In honey from six meliponaries around Salvador, Bahia, researchers identified 111 pollen types from 28 plant families; the pea family Fabaceae was the most diverse, and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia pollen was in every sample.

Despite this variety, the bees concentrated their foraging on a few plant resources, including species of Eucalyptus, Mimosa, Protium, Serjania and Tapirira.

Known locally as urucu do Nordeste or urucu verdadeira, it was one of the first bee species domesticated by Indigenous peoples including the Potiguara, Kiriri, Xucuru, Pataxo, Paiaku, Tupicuruba and Aymore.

It is the best known and most managed stingless bee species in Bahia.

It is a typical stingless bee of Atlantic rainforest sites in northeastern Brazil, a region where it is widely kept in meliponaries for honey and pollen, in both rural and urban areas.

FAO lists it among the stingless bee species most commonly kept in Latin America, alongside Melipona beecheii, Melipona compressipes and Tetragonisca angustula.

Fires and natural enemies, together with deforestation, planting of crops, growing human settlement and honey extractors, are reducing the number of colonies.