At the break of dawn, in Oaxaca, Mexico,   bees are tearing down the barrier they built  last night to cover their nest entrance.

Another successful night protecting their  honey and babies from thieving ants.

They make this lattice out of a blend of wax  and a potent ant repellent.

More on that later.

They’re not eating the waxy material –  they’re stashing it to reuse tonight.

Just like the honeybees that sweeten your  tea, these honeymakers live in a colony.

But they’re smaller and don’t have  stingers to protect the sweet stuff.

That’s why they’re known as stingless bees.

There are more than 600 species of  them in the tropics around the world,   mostly in the Americas.

And they’ve  been around twice as long as honeybees.

No bee stingers?

No bee suits needed!

Emilio Pérez is a stingless  beekeeper in the highlands   of Oaxaca, land inhabited by the Chinantec people.

This is Melipona beecheii, one of the  four bee species he keeps.

He only raises   native bees.

Scientists say moving species  around can spread diseases that harm them.

So, how do these teensy bees without  stingers protect their honey?

By annoying you.

Some tangle in your  hair … or eyebrow … and give you a bite.

It only feels like a pinprick.

But they could   summon a whole swarm of their  sisters by releasing pheromones.

In any case, for these bees, the  best offense is a good defense.

Guard bees stand watch at the nest entrance.

Melipona beecheii has just one imposing guard,   stationed on this ledge shaped like a flower.

Other species employ as many as 15 guards.

They  cover the perimeter of trumpet-shaped entrances.

If an outsider tries to come  in – like this bee from another   colony – the guards sniff it out and kill it.

These peculiar structures also make great  runways, as bees go off to work in the flowers.

They’re not picky.

They collect nectar and pollen   from dozens of plants … which  they pollinate in the process.

Stingless bees also collect resin.

It’s the sticky stuff that plants like this  cedar make to keep out burrowing insects.

See how she stows the drops on her back legs?

Different plants have different  hues of resin: yellow … white … red.

They mix the resin with wax to make  a pliable building material called   cerumen.

Your average honeybee just uses wax.

Stingless bees shape cerumen into  little capsules for their offspring,   and stack them like a tiered cake.

They also use the material to make  their honey pots … these orbs.

Yum!

It’s a freewheeling architectural style,  compared to honeybees’ hexagonal cells.

Now, remember this protective barrier?

It’s made of cerumen.

The resin mixed   in with the wax is what keeps the ants away.

They hate the resin’s smell and stickiness.

Once a year, Emilio and his daughter  Salustia collect honey from their nests.

Stingless bee colonies are smaller and  usually make less honey than honeybees.

Each of their Melipona beecheii  colonies makes about nine pounds a year,   just one seventh of what a honeybee hive produces.

Salustia: We’re having a honey tasting.

The Deep Look team got to sample it.

Gabriela: A strong fermented flavor.

Josh: It tastes like SweeTarts.

Stingless bee honey is sold as a health  product to treat things like sore throats.

All honeys contain hydrogen  peroxide, which is antimicrobial.

Stingless bees visit a variety of  plants, many in the rainforest.

So,   scientists are studying their honey and resins for  chemicals that might have medicinal properties.

As the sun goes down, bees head in for the  night and cover their nest entrance once again.

No effort is too great to protect  the riches everyone is after.