Scaptotrigona mexicana is a species of stingless bee that lives throughout Mexico and is part of the Meliponini tribe.

The male bees are able to distinguish between a physogastric and a virgin queen, allowing them to strategically form a colony in a place where reproductive success is greater.

[7] Additionally, workers of this species maintain black/dark brown heads, scutellums, metasomas, and abdomens, with no stripes.

S. mexicana is often found in wet lowlands but primarily in elevated mountain regions, which is supported by the idea that stingless bees of dark color and average size tend to remain in high attitudes.

[6] S. mexicana lives in these tree cavities where they form colonies by stacking brood cells in the shape of a pyramid.

[8] Additionally, this species tends to forage in trees and shrubs, which helps to enhance its polylectic behavior.

Based on how these swarms align, there are genetically related colonies formed around a mother nest, thus eventually resulting in the drone formation.

Male bees from nearby colonies are noted to avoid joining congregations closer to them in an effort to reduce chances of mating with a sister or a close relative.

[12] Additionally, this behavior decreases the competition between nest mates because the bees are able to exploit and find new food sources using their olfactory and visual senses.

This species chooses to forms drones in order to encourage outbreeding which increases the fitness of the colony unlike inbreeding.

In a monogamous setting, workers produce males in order to help maximize patrilines and pass on their own genes rather than laying females, a feature that the queen has been noted to prevent.