Range

• Native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.

• In Mexico, it occurs primarily in the tropical lowlands of the Pacific and Gulf slopes, including Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

• Its range extends south through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama into Colombia and Venezuela.

Habitat

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical semi-deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, mangroves, secondary forests, orchards, and gardens.

• Nests in hollow tree trunks, natural cavities, wall crevices, and occasionally abandoned termite nests.

• Colonies construct distinctive nest entrances using wax and plant resins, often forming short tubular openings.

Behaviour

• Highly social, living in perennial colonies containing hundreds to several thousand workers, a queen, and seasonal males.

• Workers forage throughout the day, collecting nectar, pollen, plant resins, and water.

• Lacks a functional sting and instead defends the colony by biting and by coating intruders with sticky resin.

• Communicates food sources using chemical signals and recruitment behaviour similar to other stingless bees.

Size

• Worker length: 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in)

• Queen length: 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in)