Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836, commonly known as Guaraipo or Guarupu, is a eusocial bee found primarily in South America.

It is an inhabitant of the Araucaria Forest and the Atlantic Rainforest, and is most commonly found from South to East Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay.

[4] M. bicolor belongs to the genus Melipona and the tribe Meliponini, which comprises about 500 species of stingless bees.

As with all Melipona species, M. bicolor build well-protected nests inside pre-existing cavities.

This process encapsulates nest construction, mass provisioning, egg laying, and cell closure.

Although common in the past, they are now a relatively rare species due to the destruction of the rainforest in which these bees used to live, mainly because the growing of the cities and for agriculture.

[citation needed] This is also the reason the nests are usually built in the lower and more humid part of tree trunks.

The workers are responsible for tasks including nest defense, brood care, colony maintenance, and provisioning.

[8] In Melipona bees, there exists a precise system of chemical communication in order to maintain the organization of the various activities constantly being performed by individuals.

[9] Sound production offers a way for members of a foraging party to communicate, even when out of site of each other, while maximizing the group's ability to acquire food.

[7] There is an advantage to polygyny during situations where a colony must rapidly produce brood cells, such as during periods of food scarcity.

Under these conditions, the queens are limited in their egg production and rely on the larval food from the brood cells.

[6] M. bicolor are mostly active outside of their nest in the morning, when humidity is high and light intensity and temperature are moderate.

[3] In some cases, workers of many species of stingless bees, including M. bicolor are able to lay eggs and produce male offspring.

M. bicolor worker bees can lay two morphologically distinct type of eggs: some have a patterned chorion, and others are unpatterned.

While sex determination in Melipona is genetic, food plays a vital role as it can maximize the queens' production.