ABSTRACT
Brazil has the greatest stingless bee diversity of the world. The majority of these species construct their nest inside tree hollows. Meliponini is the most important factor in pollination of those trees which need cross-fertilization and may account for as much as 90 per cent of all pollinators in some ecosystems. Unfortunately those bees are suffering a proccess of dregation that is even faster than of the forests which they inhabit. They are suffering the effects of an uncontrolled use of pesticides and insecticides that are leading to a decrease in their natural populations, in addition to an unprofessional exploration of their products by honey extractors ("meleiros"). We believe that to preserve those bees would be at least a way to preserve the basis of the food chain. In this asticle we also describe some of the history of bee keeping and exploration since colonial times to present-day Brazil.