It is endemic to the mountainous region of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil.

[2] In Espírito Santo, it is considered as a flagship species and has been used to raise awareness about the environmental impacts caused by deforestation.

The common name uruçu comes from Tupi "eiru su", which in the indigenous language means "big bee".

Due to the endemism and small population size, this species was not discovered until 1994 is now considered “vulnerable to extinction”.

[2] Given its endemism, local adaptation and low number of natural colonies, efforts for the conservation of Melipona capixaba should focus on preservation and increasing the number of colonies in the wild, so that M. capixaba can withstand the effects of habitat deforestation in Espírito Santo State.