Beekeeping, hydropower: Cornell Atkinson awards nearly $1M in grants

Credit: Natalia Roa Lopez/Provided

Local beekeepers and researchers examine an open log with a Melipona favosa nest during a workshop led by ABC Colombia on how to transfer colonies to artificial hives to facilitate management and honey harvest.

For centuries, native farmers in the Neotropics have gathered honey from Melipona bees, a genus of stingless bees that build their homes in hollowed logs. However, as large-scale cattle ranching and rice monoculture farms grow, and climate change disrupts precipitation patterns, bee populations are falling.