In the RBLP, meliponiculture is at risk of disappearing as it is only found in 6 of the 17 communities in the reserve. The meliponiculturists comprise mostly of elderly men with low level education, and weak social organisation. Likewise, there is a gradual loss of traditional knowledge about the management of the ko'olel kaab bee. There is little interest from young people, who usually migrate to cities to study or in search of jobs \citep{ramos2018}\citep{ramos2018a}. Currently, the honey, pollen and cerumen of the ko'olel kaab bee have a significantly higher price than products derived from European bee. This due to the high demand of consumers who recognise their medicinal properties, and their botanical origin. However, prices on the market favour, and are controlled by,  local and regional hoarders. The ways to favour Mayan farmers are: the strengthening of their social organisations to add value through productive diversification and the denomination of origin, and the promotion of the technological management of bee colonies in boxes to increase productivity and improve the health of the products. In addition, the cultural value of meliponiculture can also favour its rescue.

Contributions

  • Description and links of the authors
  • Lauren Nelson edited the article. Lauren is a Ph.D. student at Newcastle University (UK), researching computational drug design alongside the Northern Institute for Cancer Research. Lauren also writes a scientific blog, bringing science to the masses. (Twitter (@ashortscientist); Facebook (@ashortscientist); Instagram (@ashortscientist); Blog: ashortscientist.wordpress.com).
  • Ernesto Llamas made the illustrations. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Universitat de Barcelona doing his research at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics. Creator, editor, and illustrator of Sketching Science. (Twitter @neto_flames; Instagram @eellamas).
  • References
    Pat, Lucio, Pablo Hernández, Juan Pat, Francisco Guizar y Rodimiro Ramos. 2018. Cría y manejo tradicional de la abeja Melipona beecheii (ko’olel kaab) en comunidades aledañas a la Reserva de la Biosfera los Petenes, Campeche, México. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. http://aleph.ecosur.mx:8991/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/apache_media/8DSM8K1Q55PRNURX1UVSNY6KYA2MXY.pdf