{"id":106,"date":"2022-08-29T23:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/?p=106"},"modified":"2022-12-16T12:16:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T04:16:07","slug":"stingless-bee-kelulut-farming-sabah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mysabah.com\/wordpress\/stingless-bee-kelulut-farming-sabah\/","title":{"rendered":"Stingless Bee (Kelulut) Farming in Sabah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today I want to introduce some sweethearts to you. These little honey make money and healthy food for you. They are stingless bees (or meliponines), the honeybees that don’t sting. Stingless bee is known as Kelulut<\/em> in Malaysia and Tantadan<\/em> (local Dusun name) in Sabah. Belonging to the family Apida<\/em>, kelulut is closely related to honey bees, and they are also the honey producer and important pollinators in tropical and subtropical regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stingless<\/a>
There are about 38 species of stingless bee (kelulut<\/em>) found in Malaysia, but not all are honey producers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stingless bees are very common in Sabah. If you have a garden or orchard, there is a 80% chance that you could spot a kelulut hive nearby. Usually they build their nests in hollow trunks, wall cavities, and even crevices in your house wall. Stingless bees are always found busy harvesting nectar in the countryside. If you sweat a lot, some of them would land on your skin to collect salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Wax<\/a>
Wax tunnels of wild stingless bees on a tree. When I was a naughty kid, I used to pinch to seal the waxen tunnel of their entrance for fun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stingless bees are only 1 centimetre or less in body length. Their tiny size allows them to access small flowers. Though they produce honey in small quantity, kelulut honey is more nutritious and highly priced. It is a trend that more and more Sabah village house farms kelulut, as the kelulut honey is in good demand and can generate hundred to thousands dollars of side income easily every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stingless<\/a>
Heterotrigona itama<\/em> species of stingless bee (kelulut) is all black in color and suitable (and common) for beekeeping<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Honey Bee Vs Kelulut. Which Honey is Better?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Honey produced by stingless bees has many names such as Meliponine honey, pot honey, sugarbag honey (in Australia), and kelulut honey (in Malaysia). In Malaysia, kelulut honey is acclaimed as a honey healthier than normal honey. The following are some comparisons of both honey:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Taste<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you know, honeybee honey is sweet. Kelulut honey is sourish sweet<\/strong>. Usually sweetness is the base taste, and it mixes with varied degree of sourness, and even bitterness, which is greatly depend on the flowers or fruit trees visited by kelulut. Stingless bees store their honey in honey pots which are made of cerumen, produced from the bee\u2019s saliva mixed with pollen, plant resins and flowers, and this chemically affects the taste. Sometimes its honey has slight fruit flavour or herbal aroma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Geniotrigona<\/a>
These stingless bees are Geniotrigona thoracica <\/em>species. They make very delicious honey.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Nectar and Viscosity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kelulut honey is thinner than honey due to higher water content and more prone to spoiling. Many native plant have small flowers that only Meliponine can access to collect the nectar. Kelulut honey is also not as \u201cheaty\u201d as normal honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Quantity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Honey bees produce about 5 or more times honey than kelulut. In average, a honey bee hive creates 2.25 to 3.75 Kg of honey per month, whereas kelulut is only 0.5 to 2 Kg per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stingless<\/a>
Stingless bee (kelulut) honey is more expensive than honeybee honey. Some call Kelulut honey the “Miracle Liquid” because of its medicinal value.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Price<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, a standard grade honey costs less than RM90 per Kilogram. Kelulut honey is sold for RM120 to RM150 per Kg locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Nutrients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), stingless bee honey is twice as nutritious as ordinary honey<\/strong>. In a Scientific Reports published on 22 July 2020<\/a>, the researchers found that up to 85% of their sugar is trehalulose<\/em>, which is a rare and healthy sugar that is “friendly” for diabetes and doesn\u2019t cause tooth decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Row<\/a>
Row of kelulut bee houses. Each log hosts a colony. You can have a few to 100 bee houses in a bee farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Health Benefits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The main selling point of kelulut honey is its stronger health values<\/strong> from anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogen and anti-oxidant properties. It has a history of traditional indigenous in treating cough, fever, cuts and rashes. Some of the claims are proven by research, just to list a few below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n