Dactylurina staudingeri

This African stingless bee builds its brood combs vertically inside tree cavities, an arrangement reminiscent of the vertical combs of honeybees. Most stingless bees instead construct horizontal brood combs, which makes the vertical architecture of Dactylurina distinctive.

It is an African stingless bee associated with the forests of the Congo Basin, where it nests in cavities such as hollow trees. Its range is centered in the humid tropical forests of Central Africa.

No, it is a stingless bee, with the sting reduced to a non-functional remnant as in other meliponines. Colonies still defend themselves, mainly by biting and by mass defense at the nest entrance.

Traditional honey harvesting from stingless bee nests is practiced across Africa, including its Congo Basin range, but managed meliponiculture with Dactylurina is far less developed than in Latin America. Most honey taken from these bees comes from wild colonies.