the jandaíra, each with 3,000 or more bees per colony. They can produce over 1.5 tons (3,000 lbs) of honey every year. In large bee farms, only the availability of flowers limits the honey production per colony. Their honey is considered more palatable because not overly sweet, and it also is thought to have medicinal properties more pronounced than honey from bees of the genus Apis due to the higher level of antimicrobial substances. As a result, the honey from stingless bees returns very high profits, with prices as much as 5-10 times greater than those for the more common honey produced by European or Africanized bees. However, much larger numbers of beehives are required to produce amounts of honey comparable to that of European or Africanized bees. Also, due to the fact of those bees storing honey in cerumen pots instead of standardized honeycombs as in the honeybee rearing makes extraction a lot more difficult and laborious. The honey from stingless bees has a lighter color and a higher water content, from 25% to 35%, compared to the honey from the genus Apis. This contributes to its less cloying taste but also causes it to spoil more easily. Thus, for marketing, this honey needs to be processed through desiccation or pasteurization. In its natural state, it should be kept under refrigeration. Bees as pets Due to the lack of a functional stinger and characteristic nonaggressive behavior of many Brazilian species of stingless bees, they can be reared without problems in densely populated environments such as cities, provided enough flowers are at their disposal nearby. Some breeders (meliponicultors) can produce honey even in apartments up to the 12th floor. Despite being in general fairly peaceful, with exception of a few species such as the tubuna (Scaptotrigona bipunctata), most Brazilian meliponines will react if their hives are molested, nipping with their jaws, entangling themselves in the hair, trying to enter in the ears or the nose, and releasing propolis or even acid over their aggressors. Some species, nevertheless, are more suitable for rearing at home as pets. The mandaçaia are extremely tame, not attacking humans even when their hives are opened for honey extraction or colony division. They form small, manageable colonies of only 400–600 individuals. At the same time, a single rational beehive of mandaçaia can produce up to 4 liters (1 US gallon) of honey a year, making the