Member of meliponinae, or stingless honey bees, are pantropical in distribution. They are among the commonest bees in the American tropics and southeast Asia, and are easily recognized by the reduced wing venation. A few hundreds species have been described; major genera are Melipona and trigona. Two robber genera lack cirbiculae. They range in size from larger than honey bees to the smallest of all bees (body length 1.9 mm.). Colonies are perennial and reproduce by sending out a “bud” (worker) to make a new nest; a young queen will join later to establish a new colony. Queens and worker differ realty in morphology, and colonies rang from a few dozen yo many thousands of individuals. Colonies are found in cavities in trees, in the soil, or in exposed nest, depending on the species.