Yucatec Maya language
Native meliponines ("M. beecheii" being the favorite) have been kept by the lowland Maya for thousands of years. The Yucatec Maya language name for this bee is "xunan kab", meaning "(royal, noble) lady bee". The bees were once the subject of religious ceremonies and were a symbol of the bee-god Ah-Muzen-Cab, known from the "Madrid Codex".