A vertical compartmented hive designforreducingpost-harvest colony losses in three afrotropical stingless bee species (Apidae: Meliponinae)
Domestication of Meliponinae in log hive or simple box has often been used in Africa. However, colonyloss in these two hive types due to pest infestation after honey harvesting still occurs. We hypothesized that the two hive types were the probable causes for the infestations.We designed and assessed the hive acceptance andpostharvest colony losses of three Afrotropical Meliponinae namely Plebeina hildebrandti, Meliponula bocandei and two M. ferruginea morpho-speciesin a vertical compartmented hive (called the icipe-4M), as an alternative. We observed that P.