Matthew Berigan
Campina Grande, Paraiba BRAZIL
I’m from Wisconsin but am now retired to Brazil. I live in a transition area that changes from tropical coast to tropical “agreste” (much dryer but also a heavy sugarcane/pineapple/other-fruits production area) and finally to semi-arid. I’m at about 530 meters altitude.

While I plan to try my hand at Apis mellifera I’m starting out on stingless native Uruçu (Melipona scutellaris) bees. Of my 5 boxes only one is a “division” all of the rest being bought directly from other producers.

I like the scutellaris for many reasons. As an avid amateur ecologist (life-long) I look for things taht interest others, especially young people given that nature becomes less and less a part of our daily lives. Bees help bring us back in touch and especially stingless bees that youngster can poke their noses into bee boxes without much fear.

As I understand it, European bees here are basically all Africanized. People seem to appreciate their gumption to survive and produce in a somewhat harsh environment. Still, it is not unusual to hear of accidents and even deaths caused by swarms. I’ve been put to run more than once.

I’m hanging out on Flow Hive because 1) I believe that I will get into apis sooner or later and 2) I’m hunting for bekeepers local to me and 3) I dig new approaches (when new approaches improve processes and aren’t simply gimmicks).

For folks interested in stingless bees feel free to contact me BUT I must first mention that they are quite dissimilar than apis in that the hives are structered differently. Folks from the tropical belt around the world (especially those in Australia) generally have access to stingless eusocial bees but I’m sure that our stingless wonders are quite an oddity for most apis producers.