Bug FAQRed-tailed Stingless Bee
Trigona fulviventris · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Fox-colored Stingless Bee
Red-tailed stingless bees are among the largest Trigona, measuring about 5 to 6.5 mm long. They can be recognized by two tubercles on the labrum and four mandibular teeth, and the two subspecies differ in the colour of their metasoma. Colonies nest in the ground near tree roots or in building crevices, and the bees feed on pollen, nectar and occasionally on fungi, dead animals or feces.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They have two small projections called tubercles on the labrum and four teeth on each mandible. The subspecies T. f. fulviventris has a rust-coloured metasoma, while T. f. guianae is mostly black with possible reddish tones.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are 5 to 6.5 mm long, making them among the largest in their genus.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Red-tailed stingless bees do not display stinging behavior. They lack the vestigial stinging structures that some other Trigona species retain.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They build nests in the ground near large tree roots or buttresses in both dry and wet tropical forests. Nests are also found in urban settings, often in wall crevices.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Their primary diet is pollen and nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
New colonies are started each spring when workers leave an old nest and look for tree-trunk divots to start a new nest. Brood cells are built asynchronously within the nest.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Colony founding occurs in spring each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They belong to the order Hymenoptera and family Apidae, which also includes ants, wasps, bumble bees and honey bees.
Source: Wikipedia
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a red-tailed stingless bee?
Look for two tubercles on the labrum, four mandibular teeth, and a size of 5 to 6.5 mm; the subspecies differ in metasomal colour (rust-coloured vs. black).
Source: Wikipedia
Where does this bee live?
It nests in the ground near large tree roots or buttresses in tropical dry and wet forests, and also in urban wall crevices.
Source: Wikipedia
What does it eat?
Its main foods are pollen and nectar, but it will also take fungi, dead animals, flesh and feces when they are present.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it sting?
No, this species does not display stinging behavior and lacks the vestigial stinging structures found in some related bees.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigona_fulviventris
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.