They are amazing bees. They don't build comb the same as honeybees do, but in a horizontal spiral formation. the brood nest is the bit in the middle which looks a bit like a cabbage (you can see the eggs in picture 2) and the pollen and honey are stored in little pea sized pods in separate corners on the periphery. Once a month, the beekeeper takes the box down removes the lid, then with a sharp slim stick he (not many female stingless beekeepers in Tanzania) punctures all the honey pods then tilt the box to pour out all the honey, he then dusts the nest with maize flour so the bees don't get too stickied with the residue and closes them back up for another month. There are a few Tanzanian stingless beekeepers with hundreds of hives.
The honey has a higher water content than 'our' honey and has a refreshing, sometimes intense 'zingy' taste - like dropping a dab of sherbet on your tongue. There is a premium price as well - twice as valuable as forest honey.
I'll try and dig out a few more pictures but I think I have a thread on here already about Meliponiculture.
