Honey compositional convergence and the parallel domestication of social bees

Honey collection evolved from sheer honey hunting to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of bees in various parts of the world. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the compositional convergence in Apis and stingless bee honeys has driven independently the domestication of different bee species in Mesoamerica, (Mexico) and Eurasia (Thailand) by using a sampling design that combines state-of-the-art honey profiling using H1 NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from both domesticated and non-domesticated bee species. Our results show that, irrespective of the region of the world considered, domesticated stingless bees produce honey whose compositional profiles converge with those of the domesticated Apis species . Our results provide evidence for the first time that the search for natural sweeteners in the environment by our ancestors led to the parallel and independent domestication of social bees producing honeys with convergent compositional profile.