KELULUT / TRIGONA BEES

      
      

Trigona is the largest genus of stingless bees, formerly including many more subgenera than the present assemblage; many of these former subgenera have been elevated to generic status. There are approximately 150 species presently included in the genus, in 11 subgenera. They differ from those groups now excluded in only minor structural details, primarily of the hind leg.
Stingless bee, or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees, comprising the tribe Meliponini ( sometimes called stingless honey bees ) in the family Apidae, and closely related to the common honey bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees and bumblebees.
Stingless bees usually nest in hollow trunks, tree branches, underground cavities, or rock cavities, old rubbish bins, water meters, and storage drums. Many beekeepers keep the bees in their original log hive or transfer them to a wooden box, as this makes it easier to control the hive.
Stingless bees are active all year round, although they are less active in cooler weather. Unlike other eusocial bees, they do not sting but will defend by biting if their nest is disturbed. In addition, a few ( in the genus Oxytrigona ) have mandibular secretions that cause painful blisters. Despite their lack of a sting, stingless bees, being eusocial may have vary large colonies made formidable by way of numerous defends.
Stingless bees store their aromatic honey in clusters of small resin pots near the extremities of the nest. Stingless bee honey has a distinctive "bush" taste - a mix of sweet and sour with a hint of fruit. The taste comes from plant resins - which the bees use to build their hives and honey pots - and varies at different times of year depending on the flowers and tree visited.

http://beemuseum.com.my

Benefits of Honey

1. Honey has natural anti-inflammatory effect. It can cure sore throat. It helps to heal wound.
2. Honey is natural anti-septic. It contain antimicrobial agents which prevent infection by killing the bacteria in and around your wounds. It is effective in the treatment of ulcer, particularly stomach ulcer.
3. Honey antioxidant and antibacterial properties can help improve digestive system and help one stay healthy and fight disease.

4. Honey is good for skin. It can be used as a moisturizing mask for your skin instead of alpha hydroxyl masks. It is good for sensitive skin.

5. Honey reduces muscle fatigue. The glucose gives an immediate energy boost whereas the fructose sustains energy.

6. Honey prevents cancer. It possesses carcinogen-preventing and anti-tumour properties.

7. Honey has low calorie level. Compared with same amount of sugar, honey give 40% less calorie to the body. Although it provides energy to the body, it does not add weight.

8. Honey can easily be digested by the most sensitive stomachs, despite its high acid content.

9. Honey helps in cleansing the blood. I has positive effect in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.
10. Honey cures burn. Honey not only prevents infection, but also accelerates skin healing. Since the sugars in honey absorb water, it helps to trap some of the moisture so that the bacteria and other microbes cannot grow as easily as in other foods

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Madu Kelulut

Bagi org2 sebelah utara ni sudah biasa menyebut madu dengan perkataan nisan. Biasanya orang lebih sinonim dengan madu lebah daripada madu kelulut dan orang itu termasuklah aku.. hehehe. Mengikut temubual yg aku buat dgn pengusaha madu atau nisan kelulut sendiri kelulut ialah sejenis serangga yang berwarna hitam seperti gambar di bawah. 

Nampak cam ganas ja kan? Tapi sebenarnya ia tidak merbahaya kepada manusia.

Actually proses untuk mendapatkan madu kelulut ini agak sukar berbanding madu lebah biasa. Ini kerana madu kelulut amat jarang sekali ditemui dan tempat persembunyian atau sarang kelulut ini berada di dalam batang pokok. Cer bayangkan, kalau dah dok dalam batang pokok macam mana nak dapatkan madu tersebut agaknya ya? Kalau tak percaya ha tgk gamba kat bawah ni.

Sejak akhir2 ni permintaan terhadap nisan kelulut ini semakin tinggi kerana khasiatnya yang tinggi dalam mengubati pelbagai jenis penyakit. Aku jugak tak ketinggalan untuk mencubanya kerana ia dikatakan amat baik bagi menyembuhkan luka-luka dalaman. Ye lah aku kan baru lepas bersalin..

Bagi mendapatkan maklumat lanjut tentang khasiatnya aku jugak telah membuat pencarian  di dalam google. Antara khasiat2nya seperti yang aku telah aku baca ialah ia dapat mengubati pelbagai penyakit seperti asma, barah, buasir, batung kering, resdung, jerawat, sakit sendi, sakit pinggang, lemah jantung, gastrik, masalah haid dan sebagainya.

Selain penyakit2 di atas, ia juga dikatakan dapat :

• meningkatkan metabolisme badan
• menambahkan stamina dan membekalkan tenaga
• melancarkan peredaran darah dan sistem pencernaan
• mengandungi  agen antioksidan yg boleh mengurangkan aktiviti kemusnahan sel
• mengubati luka-luka
• meningkatkan keupayaan seks seseorang
• sesuai juga untuk tujuan kecantikan
•  
•  http://mamatuah.blogspot.com

Potensi Madu Kelulut

SEGALA yang diciptakan Allah sudah pasti tiada yang sia-sia. Antara ciptaanNya yang amat istimewa adalah lebah. Sesungguhnya lebah diletakkan pada kedudukan amat penting berbanding serangga lain.
Tidak hairan jika satu surah di dalam al-Quran dinamakan An-Nahl bererti lebah berdasarkan firman Allah dalam ayat 68 dan 69 ertinya: “Dan Tuhanmu mengilhamkan kepada lebah: Buatlah sarang-sarang di bukit-bukit, di pohon-pohon kayu dan di tempat yang dibuat manusia.”
“Dari perut lebah itu keluar minuman (madu) yang bermacam-macam warnanya, di dalamnya terdapat ubat yang menyembuhkan bagi manusia. Sesungguhnya pada yang demikian itu benar-benar terdapat tanda (kebesaran Tuhan) bagi orang-orang yang memikirkan.”
Madu berasal daripada sari bunga dan menjadi ubat bagi pelbagai penyakit manusia.
Khasiat madu sebagaimana disampaikan al-Quran telah dibuktikan secara ilmiah oleh pakar perubatan.
Sehingga kini kajian hanya menjurus kepada lebah madu dalam Genus Apis seperti Apis melifera dan Apis dorsata yang menyengat.
Manakala lebah tidak menyengat atau kelulut dalam genus Trigona memainkan peranan penting bagi proses pendebungaan ditinggalkan.
Sama seperti lebah madu, kelulut juga membentuk koloni sosial yang kompleks.
Kajian dijalankan di Institut Penyelidikan dan Kemajuan Pertanian Malaysia (MARDI) menunjukkan negara mempunyai kepelbagaian kelulut paling banyak berbanding negara Asia lain.
Pegawai Penyelidik, Pusat Penyelidikan Strategik, Mohd Fahimee Jaafar berkata, di Semenanjung Malaysia saja terdapat 29 spesies kelulut manakala jumlah spesies di Sabah dan Sarawak tidak dapat ditentukan.
“Di MARDI saja terdapat 15 spesies dan boleh dibahagikan kepada tiga iaitu besar, sederhana dan kecil,” katanya.
Kajian Mohd. Fahimee banyak dibantu oleh Pembantu Penyelidik, Hamdan Sipon yang telah menjalankan kajian kelulut selama lebih 10 tahun.
Fahimee berkata, usaha pemuliharaan spesies kelulut di lapangan giat dijalankan di MARDI bagi tujuan penyelidikan dan pendidikan.
Kelulut biasanya terdapat di hutan dan bersarang pada batang kayu yang telah ditebang.
“Beberapa sarang direka di ladang di Serdang bertujuan memanipulasi koloni bagi pendebungaan beberapa spesies buah-buahan serta buah-buahan dengan bunga kecil dan penghasilan madu.
“Kepelbagaian kelulut boleh dilihat menerusi bentuk sarang,” katanya.
Koloni kelulut di MARDI diletakkan di ladang durian, belimbing dan longan sebagai agen pendebungaan yang berjaya.
“Misalnya ladang durian yang mempunyai koloni kelulut menunjukkan peningkatan hasil dan sentiasa berbuah tidak mengira musim,” katanya.
Lebih istimewa, lebah kelulut mudah mendebungakan bunga bersaiz kecil yang tidak boleh dilakukan lebah madu.
Bagi tujuan komersial, koloni kelulut diletakkan dalam kotak yang boleh memuatkan 1,000 hingga 2,000 ekor.
“Dalam masa sebulan hasil kelulut sudah boleh dituai dalam bentuk madu, debunga dan propolis dan pengambilan madu lebih mudah kerana kelulut tiada sengat,” katanya.
Kelebihan kelulut adalah madunya boleh diambil setiap bulan apabila kotak sarang telah penuh dan madu berada di dalam kantung-kantung kecil.
Setakat ini madu kelulut belum lagi dikomersialkan kerana masih ramai tidak mengetahui kelebihan kelulut.
“Sama seperti lebah madu, kelulut juga menghasilkan madu dan propolis yang kaya dengan khasiat seperti antioksidan yang tinggi.
“Madu kelulut rasanya agak masam berbanding madu biasa dan warnanya lebih cerah,” katanya.
Madu kelulut lebih mahal dibandingkan dengan madu lebah biasa kerana kurang di pasaran.
Produk propolis berwarna kehitaman dikumpulkan oleh kelulut pekerja iaitu resin pokok yang dicampurkan dengan air liur serta makanan seperti debunga dan bunga.
Bahan propolis digunakan untuk melapisi bahagian dalam sarang bagi mengekalkan keadaan steril kerana anak kelulut amat sensitif dengan virus, kulat dan serangga perosak.
Propolis boleh berfungsi sebagai antikulat, antifungus, antibakteria dan antiradang yang biasanya digunakan sebagai bahan aktif dalam kosmetik, krim dan tablet.
Kelulut mudah diuruskan kerana tidak seperti lebah madu yang sering hilang, tidak tinggal di sarang serta mudah diserang penyakit.
Justeru, kajian mendalam mengenai produk kelulut perlu dijalankan bagi membolehkannya dikomersialkan pada masa hadapan.

(Sumber dari Utusan Online)

Madu Kelulut

http://depankanta.blogspot.com

 "Kelulut merupakan antara 33 jenis spesies lebah trigona yang tidak mempunyai sengat dan madunya dikatakan mempunyai banyak khasiat untuk memulihkan pelbagai penyakit kronik.

Berbeza dengan kebanyakan lebah, kelulut tidak berbahaya kepada manusia dan madu yang dihasilkan sangat berguna dalam bidang perubatan dan kesihatan.Selain madu, dua lagi bahan dihasilkan oleh lebah kelulut yang sangat istimewa ialah bee bread iaitu campuran polen dengan madu, air liur dan cairan dari perut lebah yang boleh membantu masalah pencernaan dan fermentasi.Sementara propolis pula merupakan campuran getah tanaman dan cairan khusus yang dikeluarkan oleh lebah dan ia dikatakan mempunyai khasiat perubatan yang tinggi.

Antara penyakit yang dilaporkan sembuh melalui kaedah rawatan tradisional mengunakan propolis termasuk diabetis, mellitus, strok, hepatitis, kanser, hipertensi, batu karang dan HIV/AIDS." Petikan dari akhbar Utusan Malaysia 15.5.2012

      Secara kebetulan seorang rakan baru berjinak2 untuk mengusahakan madu kelulut,depankanta sempat merakamkan bagaimana madu  lebah kelulut ini diusahakan.

                                     Biasanya Kelulut liar akan bersarang dibahagian batang pokok yg burok atau reput dihutan,semak atau belukar.......

           Beginilah rupa kelulut yg bersaiz hanya sebesar lalat yg kecil dan tidak mempunyai sengat....

                Kelulut yg bersarang pada batang pokok akan membuat laluan sebagai jalan keluar masuk...

Berlainan dgn lebah yg biasa menyengat secara berkumpulan bila sarangnya diganggu,kelulut yg tidak mempunyai sengat tidak akan membahayakan kita,menjadi tabiatnya bila diganggu kumpulan ini akan memasuki kedalam rambut kita membuatkan rasa tidak selesa....

        Bagi menternak kelulut,sebuah kotak kayu disediakan dan sarang bersama koloninya yg diperolehi dari tempat asal dipokok2 kayu dipindahkan kedalam kotak ini....

Selepas beberapa hari sahaja dipindahkan,kumpulan kelulut akan mula membiasakan diri dalam kotak dan membina terowong untuk jalan keluar masuk mereka...

Sementara kumpulan yg lain sibuk membina semula sarang mereka.Dalam sinilah madu kelulut diperolehi...

Saiz kelulut hanya sebesar lalat yg kecil...Mereka sedang sibuk membetulkan semula sarang yg baru dipindahkan kedalam kotak kayu...

  Kelulut cepat dapat membiasanya diri dgn "rumah baru"...

     Madu kelulut mempunyai rasa masam sedikit berbanding dgn madu lebah biasa tapi harganya lebih mahal (RM 90/KG) dan lebih berkhasiat..Kajian oleh pihak MARDI dan USM banyak menemukan berbagai kegunaan madu dan propolis kelulut kepada manusia...

    Berbanding dgn lebah2 ini yg agak agresif dan merbahaya bila diganggu dan sukar diternak secara kecil-kecilan dipinggir2 rumah kediaman...

Stingless bees

Bees with the necessary honey-storing characteristics to be exploited by humans for their honey belong either to the subfamily Meliponini that contains several genera of stingless bees, or to the single genus Apis, the honey bees, The stingless bees are  social bees that  store significant volumes of honey.  Their natural distribution is throughout tropical and subtropical areas of the world, and there are around 300 species.  They live in perennial colonies ranging from a few dozen individuals to many thousands.  Their social organisation, division of labour between workers and some of the physical structures of the adult bee (such as pollen baskets) are similar to the Apis genus of honey bee. 

However, their biology differs from honey bees in some significant ways.  For example, the feeding of stingless bee larvae is very different from the way that honey bee larvae are fed.  In stingless bees the cells are mass provisioned, which means that all the food the larva will need for its development is placed in the cell in one operation by a nurse bee.  One of the workers will then lay an egg (known as a trophic egg) into the cell.  The queen will be attracted to the group of workers laying eggs and will come and eat the egg, plus some of the food provision before laying her own egg into the cell.  After this the workers seal the cell so the larva can mature and pupate.  The queen will receive most of her nutrition in this manner.

Stingless bee cells are oval or round and are arranged in orderly groups or plates, which may be reminiscent of honeycomb.  Their nests can be found in cavities in trees or in exposed nests attached to tree branches.  Other species nest underground and may take residence in part of a termite's nest.  The nest is frequently divided into two parts - the brood chamber where the larvae are reared and, in some species, a special area for storing honey and pollen.  The nest is made of a waxy substance called cerumen, collected from resinous trees, and covered in a tougher wax known as batumen - similar to the propolis used by honey bees.

 

New nests are started by workers from an existing colony starting up a nest in a different site.  Eventually a young queen from the old colony goes to the new site with a few workers and gradually the colony builds up to become independent of the parent colony.  This arrangement precludes the rapid spread of new stingless bee nests to new areas, making them very vulnerable to habitat loss.  Female caste differentiation is different from the honey bee (which arises because of food quality).  Michener 2000, describes three different systems of queen determination.

1. A small number of queens are reared at the margins of the comb and the quantity of food supplied appears to be the controlling factor in queen development.

2. The second system uses clusters of specially shaped, well separated and well fed cells.

3. The third system uses no special cells but the small sized females produced mature into queens after hatching.

Mating occurs outside of the hive with the virgins entering into male mating swarms.  As in honey bees, males mate once and then die.

 http://www.beesfordevelopment.org

Honey from stingless bees (Part II)

How can I tell the difference between honey bee honey and stingless bee honey? Stingless bee honey is more liquid than the well known honey bee honey. Honey bee honey has a water content of about 20% while the stingless bees has a water content of between 20-42%, depending on the species and the area from where the honey is collected. The high water content in stingless bee honey makes it very prone to fermentation. The flavor is often described as a more flowery than honey bee honey, but it depends largely on the species. There has been relatively little scientific research into the medical properties attributed to honey from stingless bees, but due to the presumption that it is a remedy and the usually low amount of honey produced, the price is much higher than that of honey bee honey (Apis mellifera).

	How do we collect and store the honey? We use the modern rational bee hive design as developed by Noguiera-Neto in Brazil, a design that allows us to harvest honey under very hygienic conditions. We use a medical aspirator (AspiraMax MA-520) imported from Brazil to efficiently gather honey from individual honey pots. All of our honey gathering equipment and bottles are boiled for sanitation before each use. The honey is then gathered from the Melipona colony and bottled directly. To avoid fermentation of the honey, we pasteurize the honey by heating it up to 72° C for 15 seconds, as recommended by Noguiera-Neto. The honey should be kept dark and at room temperature, although if necessary to store the honey for an extended period of time, refrigeration may be used to prevent fermentation. For extraction of honey from Tetragonisca hives it is necessary to remove all of the honey pots from the hive and manually extract the honey. The wax produced by Tetragonisca for their honey pots is so delicate that the aspirator collapses the pots when used. Due to this our honey from Tetragonisca may contain tiny fragments of the honey pots.
	How to consume the honey you just purchased? We recommend to use our stingless bee honey against the common cold in a mix of two tablespoons of honey (10 ml) and half a tablespoon of fresh lime (2.5 ml). It is also recommended to add a little garlic if you are coughing. Stingless bee honey is also great in fruit salads; adding it to a bowl full of e.g. banana, pineapple, apple, mangos, grapes, the juice of two oranges, and finally three-four tablespoons (15-20 ml) of stingless bee honey. Fruit flavored yogurt can be added. Of course, the honey can also be used in place of honey bee honey or sugar to add a more exotic flavor, but keep in mind, that honey from stingless bees is a little more runny than what you usually experience with honey bee honey.
	Different varieties of stingless bee honey We keep a range of stingless bees for study. They all have their unique and characteristic honey. Generally we recommend the consumption of honey only from the genera Melipona and Tetragonisca, as well as a few others that we do not sell at the moment. The quantity of honey produced is low compared to honey bees. After a full year we expect to harvest 4-500 ml from a good hive of Melipona. We leave all of the pollen pots untouched for the bees to use and also leave some of the honey pots in the hive for the bee to survive on. The production in Tetragonisca hives is minor, and we extract less than 100 ml from their hives during a year.
	Where did your honey come from? Our colonies are kept in different parts around the city of Tarapoto, San Martin, Peru. Our bees will here visit tall trees in the secondary rainforest along the River Shilcayo or River Cumbaza. They will occasionally encounter a few monkeys or a lone toucan in the trees, while colorful poison-arrow frogs (Dendrobates) sing from the bank of the river. We are not certain how many different trees have been visited for your honey, but guarantee that the honey is completely authentic and not altered or modified by additives or artificial feeding during the honey production. This guarantees a rich and unique flavor to your honey. Supplemental sugar is provided to strengthen the colonies only when we are installing colonies into new hives following reproduction, and thus prevents us from loosing a very valuable genetic resource from our management program.
	Rainforest conservation and stingless bees The stingless bees depend on the rainforest to succeed. Unlike honey bees (Apis mellifera) they do not adapt to low diversity crop systems and will disappear if the rainforest disappear. Therefore the promotion of stingless bees is a very important tool to educate people living in the rainforests about the importance of their surrounding forest. Honey production by native stingless bees is also an ecologically very sound and cheap method to generate a sustainable livelihood in the Amazon rainforest. Production of stingless bee honey provides the farmer with an economic alternative to logging and encourage the conservation of trees as nectar and pollen sources. By developing stingless bee honey programs, we hope to raise the living standard for otherwise marginalized people and contribute to their awareness in conservation of the rain forest and all of its inhabitants.
	About us We are a legally registered Peruvian NGO ("Asociación Civil Melipona"). Since 2002 we have kept and studied stingless bees. Our mission is to promote the keeping of stingless bees throughout the Amazon region in an aim to teach people about conservation and the importance of eco-systems as an sustainable alternative, with the utilization of non-timber forest products like honey from stingless bees. We are still in a pilot-phase developing techniques for keeping stingless bees and pursuing other conservation goals. Our background range from professional entomologist with Ph.D., agronomists, and Peruvian farmers, all united by the curiosity and love for the nature and the native bees.  http://www.melipona.org