The aster family is very widely distributed, being common in Europe,
Asia and South Africa, as well as America. There are more than 200
recognized species, of which at least 125 are found in the United
States. They are extremely common in the Eastern and Southern States,
although some kinds are to be found in every State in the Union, and
from Canada to Mexico. Every American beekeeper may be sure that his
bees are within reach of at least one species of aster, and, in most
localities, there are several species. Some species produce nectar much
more abundantly than others, and it is probable that the flow from all
kinds is more or less affected by soil or climatic conditions. So few
beekeepers differentiate between the species that it is very difficult
to secure satisfactory information regarding their comparative value.
[Illustration: Fig. 11. Purple stemmed aster (_Aster puniceus_).]
Asters are very seldom mentioned as sources of nectar in the southwest.
Yet twenty-one species are listed as occurring in New Mexico. They
seem to be of importance principally in the Eastern States. There are
numerous reports of honey from asters in the Southeastern States of
Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, the amount of surplus increasing
northward.
In most localities, the aster honey is mixed with that from goldenrod,
and the two sources are usually spoken of together. In the September,
1917, issue of the American Bee Journal, appeared an extended article
on goldenrods. Like the asters, they are of wide distribution, and,
like them, they seem to produce nectar more abundantly in the moist
climate of the Eastern States. Both bloom late in autumn, the crop
often being cut short by frost.
According to Lovell, the asters are never common enough to yield a
surplus in Maine, and the honey is always mixed with goldenrod.
As to the quality of the honey, there are many conflicting reports.
Many reports are to the effect that the quality is poor and not
suitable for table use. The fact that the honey is seldom unmixed with
that of other fall flowers, may be responsible for this impression. C.
P. Dadant had one year, in Illinois, a crop of about six barrels which
was almost pure aster honey. This honey was secured late in the season,
after other plants had ceased to yield, and was almost white, and of
very fine quality.
[Illustration: Fig. 12. Large-leaved aster (_Aster macrophyllus_).]
There are numerous reports that a strong odor is apparent in the apiary
when asters are yielding. We quote some of these:
“We had a fall flow from wild asters that filled the hives with
honey for wintering, and gave a few gallons of extracted honey. The
honey is of good color and weight, but rather strong for table use.
It also granulates very quickly. When the bees are gathering this
honey the hives give off a rank and somewhat sickening odor, which
can be detected for quite a distance away. * * * This odor disappears
as the honey ripens and the flow ceases, but the strong taste never
entirely disappears. It is as strong as basswood and not nearly so
pleasant.”--D. E. Andrews, Bloomington, Ind., page 98, American Bee
Journal, 1907.
“The odor is not unpleasant, but is very noticeable when the bees are
bringing much of it in, and it can be distinguished a considerable
distance from the hives. The amount of ‘smell’ is such a good
criterion as to the amount of honey that one can tell the quantity he
is getting from these indications alone.”--W. H. Reed, Herrodsburg,
Ky., page 228, Gleanings, 1911.
“In the Shenandoah Valley, in Virginia, where I lived for fourteen
years, there were many acres of white aster. There were several years
when the bloom was in sheets, affording a good yield of surplus. The
honey was very light amber, of fine quality, and was considered next
to white clover. At such times a strong odor, which was distinctly
sour, could be noticed.”--Burdet Hassett. Page 257, Gleanings, 1911.
Much has been written concerning the danger of aster honey for winter
stores. So many reports of disastrous results from wintering on aster
honey have been published, that it is generally understood not to
be safe for winter stores. However, it is probable that the trouble
comes from honey gathered too late to be properly ripened, rather
than because the honey is of poor quality. The fact that the honey
granulates readily also probably accounts for the trouble in some cases.
[Illustration: Fig. 13. Arrow-leaved aster (_Aster sagittifolius_).]
In some localities, asters seem to be a dependable source of surplus,
while in others they yield in appreciable quantity only in rare
seasons. Kentucky seems to be in the heart of the territory where
asters are important. The following are typical reports:
“We have never failed to get a good crop of surplus honey, and plenty
left for the bees, from aster for more than twenty years, till this
year.”--H. C. Clemons, Boyd, Ky. Page 90, Gleanings, 1909.
“In this section the asters are invaluable as fall forage for bees.
Let the season be cold or hot, we are certain to have a continuous
bloom from early in September until a really hard frost occurs. My
Italian bees have never failed to secure enough honey from aster to
carry them through the winter, even when there was hardly a pound
of honey in the hives at the end of August--Daniel M. Worthington,
Elkridge, Md., American Bee Journal, page 125, 1869.
“Blue aster (=Aster azureus=), known among farmers as blue devil, or
stickweed, in my judgment, is one of the best we have, from the fact
that it produces honey in the fall of the year. It is usually in full
bloom until about the middle of October, and if the weather is warm
enough for the bees to fly, they get plenty of honey to winter on
from this flower.”--West Virginia. Page 869, American Bee Journal,
1906.
It is probable that most of the species are of more or less value for
honey under favorable conditions. The writer has seen bees working on
arrow-leaf (=Aster sagittifolius=) on sunny days in Cass County, Iowa,
the first week in November, after everything else had been killed by
frost. Figure 13 shows this species, which occurs in dry, open woods,
from New Brunswick to Ontario, and west to Dakota, and from New York to
the Ohio valley, and along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama.
Generally speaking, the small-flowered species with willow-shaped
leaves, are best for honey. =Aster tradescanti= is probably first
in the list as a source of surplus. It is found from Ontario to
Saskatchewan, and throughout the States east of the Mississippi, south
to the Gulf States. =Aster salicifolius= is probably one of the best in
Iowa and Illinois, being common on low ground.
[Illustration: Fig. 14. Swamp aster (_Aster acuminatus_).]
In a private letter, F. W. L. Sladen writes concerning the asters in
Canada, as follows:
“I have this year had confirmation that =Aster cordifolius= is a
useful source of surplus honey in favorable seasons in the Gatineau
valley in September. During a period of very fine weather between
September 11 and 22, a crop of 12,000 pounds of honey, principally
from this source, and from the late flowering species of goldenrod,
was obtained by Joseph Martineau, at Montcerf, Quebec, from 300
colonies. The honey was light amber color, and a pleasant flavor,
and not unwholesome for wintering, not granulating in the combs.
(See Experimental Farms report 1914-15, page 996). Other valuable
species of aster in Canada for honey production are =A. lateriflorus=
(Maritime provinces to Ontario); =Aster umbellatus= (Maritime
provinces to Eastern Manitoba), and =Aster puniceus=, Fig. 11
(Maritime provinces to Ontario).”--Ottawa, October 2, 1917.
=Aster puniceus=, the purple-stemmed aster, Fig. 11, is found from Nova
Scotia to the Rocky Mountains and south to Northern Alabama. It is one
of the most attractive of the asters, growing on wet land and in the
borders of swamps. Lovell writes that in Maine he has seen the bees on
this species in large numbers on September 17.
The white field aster, or frost flower (=Aster vimineus=), Fig. 10,
is common from Eastern Canada to Minnesota, and south to Arkansas and
Florida. It grows in dry, open fields, along roadsides, and in waste
places. It is a late bloomer, belonging to the group of field asters
which are important for nectar. Some other species, however, yield more
freely.
The swamp aster (=Aster acuminatus=) occurs on wet land, but as far as
available information goes is not valuable for honey.
The large-leaved =Aster macrophyllus=, Fig. 12, is a northern species,
found in open woodlands. Graenicher observed ninety-five species of
insects on the flowers of this species in Wisconsin, which indicates
nectar in abundance in that State.
Several other species are known to produce nectar freely, =A.
multiflorus=, =A. lateriflorus=, =A. dumosus=, =A. paniculatus= and =A.
vimineus= being reported from various localities. =A. ericoides= is
reported as valuable in Missouri.
“There is an abundance of =Aster ericoides= now in full bloom. The
bees are working on it more vigorously than they have on white clover
or any other bloom.”--George E. Wilkins, Wright County, Mo. Page 699,
American Bee Journal, 1904.
So far, we have been unable to find any records of surplus honey from
asters west of the Missouri River.
ASTRAGALUS, see Loco Weed.
AZALEA (Rhododendron).
The azaleas are closely related to the mountain laurel and are likewise
sometimes reported as poisonous. (See Laurel; also Poisonous Honey).
The flame-colored azalea is common in the mountains of the Eastern
States from Pennsylvania to Georgia. It has a profusion of showy,
flame-colored blossoms coming just when the leaves appear. Probably
several of the group yield nectar in quantity to be important wherever
they are sufficiently plentiful.
B
BALLOON VINE (Cardiospermum halicacabum).
The balloon vine is a herbaceous climber with alternate leaves and
clusters of small white flowers, followed by a three-celled inflated
pod. This species is common along streams in south Texas. =C. molle=, a
Mexican species, is also found to some extent in the mountains west of
the Pecos River, according to Coulter.
Balloon vine is reported as the source of considerable honey in Texas.
Scholl lists it is a fair yielder, but plants not abundant. Other
reports indicate that it is the source of considerable surplus along
the Gulf Coast of that State.
BALSAM APPLE, see Wild Cucumber.
BANANA (Musa sapientum).
Since the banana plant is little grown in the United States, it
is seldom mentioned as a honey plant, yet it secretes nectar very
abundantly, and in countries where bananas are grown on a large scale
it must be important to the beekeeper. We are showing herewith two
illustrations, one of the plant in fruit and one showing the opening of
the bloom.
[Illustration: Fig. 15. Blossoms of the banana.]
The following description of the possibilities of this plant is
reprinted from page 83 of the American Bee Journal for 1880, and was
written by a correspondent in Clifton Springs, Florida:
“Recently noticing bees working upon blossoms, I concluded to
examine them. To my surprise, I found that each blossom had a sack
on its under side, which contained several drops of nectar of the
consistency and sweetness of thin syrup. This sack gradually opens,
allowing the contents to escape, unless appropriated by some insect.
The blossom hangs in a position that rain cannot enter to dilute or
wash out the nectar. Procuring a teaspoon, I emptied into it the
contents of a dozen blossoms, which filled it full. Each stalk, on
good land, will produce a head having a hundred hands or divisions of
blossoms, and each hand averages six blossoms, giving 600 blossoms
to the stalk. Estimating 100 teaspoonfuls to the pint (88 of the one
used filled a pint measure) we have 50 spoonfuls, or half a pint to
the stalk. Planted in checks 8×8 feet, there will be 680 plants to
the acre, yielding, according to the above estimate, 42¹⁄₂ gallons
of nectar. But usually more than one stalk in a hill blossoms and
matures fruit annually. The blossoms used were below those that
produce fruit, which later, I am told, are much richer in honey.
“The first blossoms which open mature fruit. These vary in number
from 25 to 100, according to quality of land, cultivation, etc.
They sell here at from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 cents per finger or pod.
Estimating fruit at 25 fingers per bunch and the bunches at 25 cents
each--which, you see, is a low estimate for both, the result will be
a barrel of nectar, or $170 worth of fruit per acre. How does this
showing compare with other cultivated plants as combined honey and
money crop?”
[Illustration: Fig. 16. The banana.]
BARBERRY (Berberis).
[Illustration: Fig. 17. Triple-leaved barberry, or agarita.]
The common barberry, introduced from Europe, has become naturalized
in the Northern States and occurs in thickets and woodlands from
the Atlantic Coast to Iowa and southward. It blooms in May and June
and is well known as an attractive plant to the bees, though seldom
sufficiently abundant to be important. It is much cultivated for
ornament.
In Texas, the triple-leaved barberry (=Berberis trifoliata=) is known
as agarites, the Mexican name, and as wild currant. It is common over
a large part of the southern portion of the State and is an important
source of early nectar. It is a shrub 4 to 6 feet high, with stiff
leaves and bright yellow flowers that grow in dense clusters along the
stem. The red berries ripen in May and are often called currants. They
are used for jelly or sauce, as well as for barberry wine. The plants
are to be found in thickets, in open woodlands and along roadsides,
in fence corners and other waste places where the seeds have been
scattered by birds.
“As a honey plant it is one of much value to me. It blooms here early
in February, and the bloom continues for several weeks, some bushes
blooming later than others. The pollen yield is abundant, bright
yellow in color. It is the second bloomer of the year on my list of
Texas honey plants, coming after mistletoe and before our main fruit
bloom.”--Louis Scholl, Gleanings, Feb., 1907.
Richter reports the California barberry (=Berberis pinnata=) yields
surplus in Monterey County after manzanita has bloomed. The honey is
amber in color. The plant is rather common from Berkely Hills south to
Monterey, blooming in March and April, according to Jepson. (See also
Oregon grape).
BARNABY’S THISTLE, see Star Thistle.
BASIL or MOUNTAIN MINT (Pycananthemum virginianum).
Basil is common from New England to the Missouri River and southward.
There are numerous reports from beekeepers to the effect that bees work
upon it very eagerly from morning till night. It is probably nowhere of
much importance, though it would be if sufficiently common.
BASSWOOD (Tilia americana).
[Illustration: Fig. 18. Basswood tree in bloom.]
The basswood, also known as linden, whitewood, and sometimes as
limetree, is one of the best known sources of honey in the Eastern
States. There are other species closely related which also produce
nectar, and which, perhaps, would not be distinguished by the casual
observer. The natural range of the basswood is from Canada to Florida
and west to Nebraska and Texas. It is also grown as a shade tree in
other Western States and is mentioned by Richter in the bulletin on
“Honey Plants of California,” as an introduced species of value. Fig.
18 shows the trees in bloom, and Fig. 19 a close view of the blossom
and leaf.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. Blossom and leaf of the basswood.]
The tree thrives on rich lands, and in the cooler regions of the
country reaches a large size. The wood is soft and white and much
in demand for making sections, separators and other bee supplies
requiring a soft wood cut in thin sheets. For such purposes basswood
has no superior. The wood is also sought for use in the manufacture of
furniture, packing boxes, etc.; as well as for paper making.
The blooming period is short, seldom yielding to exceed ten days or
two weeks, and often for a much shorter period. The honeyflows from
basswood are irregular and only to be depended upon about two or
three years out of every five. A heavy flow from this source occurs
only occasionally, but when it does come it is worth waiting for, for
enormous yields are sometimes secured. The honey is white in color,
with rather a strong flavor, but is usually regarded as high quality.
Good basswood locations are no longer plentiful, as the cutting of the
forests over the entire country has resulted in a large reduction of
this along with other trees.
The European linden (=Tilia europaea=) has been planted in many
places and, according to Sladen, is the source of surplus honey at
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
BASTARD-PENNYROYAL, see Blue Curls.
BATCHELOR’S BUTTON, see Centaurea.
BAY, see Magnolia.
BEAN (Phaseolus).
There are two varieties of the garden bean which are the source of
nectar in quantity. Surplus honey from beans is seldom reported except
in Southern California. Ventura County is said to produce as high as
72 per cent of the lima beans raised in the entire United States;
800,000 sacks is the reported output for 1910. The honey from lima
beans is almost water white in color and of fine flavor, according to
M. H. Mendleson, of Ventura, California, who has produced many tons
of this honey. The black-eyed beans yield a dark amber honey, but of
good quality. A peculiarity of honey from lima beans is that it will
sometimes sweat and ferment when left too long on the hives of weak
colonies, near the coast. This, according to Mendleson, seldom happens
with strong colonies, nor does it happen in any case in the interior.
Honey from beans granulates very readily.
The honeyflow from beans is regarded as very dependable. Occasionally
the blossoms are blasted by hot east winds, but not frequently. In
Ventura County the average from this source is reported as 50 pounds
per colony per year, with as high as 140 pounds in an exceptional
season. The beans bloom through a long season, beginning in July and
continuing till September, with the principal crop of nectar harvested
in July. The bloom is prolonged by irrigation.
The principal counties of California where beans are important are:
Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego.
BEARBERRY, see Manzanita.
BEAVER TREE, see Magnolia.
BEE BALM (Melissa officinalis).
A sweet perennial herb, cultivated in gardens, from Southern Europe and
North Africa. Sometimes escaped; flowers yellow or whitish, several in
each auxiliary cluster. Plant erect and branching, with broad opposite
leaves. Attractive to the bees, but not sufficiently abundant to be
important.
BEECH (Fagus grandifolia).
The beech is a large tree common to Eastern America. It is known from
Nova Scotia to Ontario and southward, sometimes in extensive forests.
Its principal value to the beekeeper is as a source of pollen, though
honeydew is sometimes secured from the leaves.
BEEWEED, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.
BEGGAR TICK, see Spanish Needle.
BINDWEED (Polygonum convolvulus).
The black bindweed is a common weed throughout the Eastern States. It
is of European origin, introduced into this country. It belongs to
a family of plants which produce honey in quantity, but, is itself,
of little value. The first indication that reached the author that
this plant was sometimes of value to the bees, was the receipt of a
specimen, by mail, with the information that the bees were working upon
it. Careful watch was then kept for several years, before they were
seen to seek it in his locality. Since that time there have been a few
occasions when the bees have sought it freely and when it seemed to
yield some nectar. It is doubtful whether it is ever of much importance
as a source of honey.
The seed has been widely distributed with grain seeds and is very
troublesome in fields of small grain. The vine closely resembles the
wild morning glory, to the casual observer, but the blossom is small
and inconspicuous, followed with a seed somewhat like buckwheat, hence
it is often called wild buckwheat.
[Illustration: Fig. 20. The Black bindweed is a common weed.]
BIRCH (Betula).
There are several species of birch trees and shrubs common to Eastern
America. They are partial to low, rich woodlands, and some occur in the
far north. In some localities they are valuable for pollen.
BITTERSWEET (Celastrus scandens). Waxwork, or Climbing Bittersweet.
A well-known climbing shrub common in woodlands. The orange-colored
pods displaying the scarlet covered seeds are often gathered for winter
bouquets. The flowers are small and greenish in raceme-like clusters at
the termination of the branches.
“The bees work freely on bittersweet.”--Miss Mitchell, Keokuk, Iowa.
BITTERWEED (Helenium tenuifolium).
The author’s first experience with bitterweed honey was in south
Missouri in 1904 or 1905. There had been a good flow from white clover,
followed by a dearth for a time, and the unfinished sections were
filled out with bitterweed honey. The sections looked very nice and a
northern beekeeper who had recently settled near the town of Salem,
innocently sold his honey to the townspeople. The next time he came
to town there were numerous persons looking for him, and he found
it necessary to take back most of the honey he had marketed on his
previous visit. The honey from this source is so bitter that a very
little of it will spoil a fine crop of the best white honey. A few
cells are sufficient to make a whole section absolutely unpalatable.
[Illustration: Fig. 21. Honey from bitterweed is unfit for table use.]
On a visit to Tennessee the author was very much interested in this
plant, which grows freely along roadsides, in barnyards and similar
places, much as dogfennel or mayweed does in the Northern States.
The range of the plant is given as from Arkansas and Texas to North
Carolina. It probably does not appear to any extent north of Tennessee.
Chas. Mohr says of it (Plant Life of Alabama, page 54):
“The bitterweed, originally from the sunny plains west of the
Mississippi River south of the Arkansas Valley, was first observed in
Mobile in 1866. It has spread along the embankments of the railroads
to the mouth of the Ohio River, literally covering in many places
the waste and uncultivated grounds, and reaching out along byroads
and borders of fields and woodlands. It its northward spread it
has largely taken the place of the mayweed (=Anthemis cotula=), a
European weed of early introduction.”
Regarding honey from this source J. J. Wilder says (American Bee
Journal, Vol. 54, page 410):
“It is truly a nectar-laden plant. Though it does not grow in great
fields as yet, bees will store from 30 to 35 pounds of surplus from
it. Its flowers are of a deep yellow; the honey, light yellow, heavy
body, soon granulates when extracted. It is bitter; in fact it is
about as offensive to the palate as quinine. In most sections of the
South the cotton plant begins yielding two or three weeks before the
bitterweed, and if it were not for the well-established fact that
bees do not desert a honey plant for another as long as it yields
well, nearly all the summer and fall honey would be unfit for market
on account of the bitterweed. In sections where the cotton does not
yield much, the honey is all bitter, and a small amount of it will
ruin a tank of good honey. Bitterweed is also a great pollen plant,
furnishing abundance of bright yellow pollen throughout its blooming
period. Even the stems and foliage of this plant are intensely
bitter, and no animals eat it.”
Pammel cites a quotation which states that it has been reported as
fatal to horses and mules in several of the Gulf States. It is said to
contain a narcotic poison and to be the cause of bitter milk.
A relative of this plant, the northern sneezeweed (=Helenium
automnale=) is also a good honey plant, and probably less bitter than
the southern or narrow-leaved sneezeweed just described. Neither,
however, can be said to be a desirable addition to the honey-producing
flora, because of spoiling good honey from mixing with it. The northern
sneezeweed is found in various localities from Connecticut to the
Dakotas and southward. It is also found in places in the Rocky Mountain
States.
The bitter honey seems to be as good as any for brood-rearing and,
where present, the beekeeper should use care to avoid mixing it with
his marketable produce, and use it for feeding the bees. The bitterness
is said to come from the pollen grains present in the honey, which
improves greatly with age, as the pollen grains settle to the bottom of
the container.
BLACKBERRY (Rubus).
The blackberries, dewberries and raspberries are closely related
plants, all of which are good honey sources. The blackberry is
especially well known in the Southeastern States, where it thrives in
fence corners and moist woodland borders. In north Georgia it is one
of the principal sources of surplus honey. Farther north the nectar
yield is apparently not as good, and in some localities the bees
apparently do not get much honey from this source. Lovell states that
in New England there is very little nectar available from either wild
or cultivated blackberries. Richter states that the Himalaya variety
of blackberry yields some honey in Yuba County, California. John W.
Cash reports an average of 25 pounds per colony of surplus at Bogart,
Georgia. The honey is amber, very thick, and does not granulate.
There are parts of California where the dewberry is reported to be very
important and to yield surplus. The honey is of good flavor and a light
amber color.
The raspberry is the most important of the group. (See Raspberry).
[Illustration: Fig. 22. Mangrove bloom.]
BLACK BINDWEED, see Bindweed.
BLACK GUM, see Tupelo.
BLACK HAW (Viburnum prunifolium).
The black haw belongs to a group containing several valuable honey
plants. It occurs from Connecticut to Michigan and south to Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. (In the South it is given
a varietal name.) It is a shrub or small tree, blooming in the North
in May and June and in the South in April and May. Its principal value
lies in stimulating early brood-rearing, since in few localities it is
of sufficient abundance to be important as a source of surplus.
Scholl lists it as yielding well, early, in Texas.
[Illustration: Fig. 23. The black mangrove tree.]
BLACK LOCUST, see Locust.
BLACK MEDIC (Medicago lupulina).
Black medic is a widely distributed plant in California, but not very
common. It blooms from April to June. It is the source of some nectar,
but is probably not of much importance, except possibly in a few
limited localities.
BLACK MANGROVE (Avicennia nitida).
Black mangrove (=Avicennia nitida=) is also known as blackwood, or
blacktree. It is an evergreen tree, growing along the seashores of the
coast of Florida. It is said also to occur to some extent along the
gulf coast to Texas and throughout the coasts of Tropical America. It
varies from a bushy shrub to a tall tree 60 or more feet in height in
tropical regions. The wood is coarse-grained, hard and very durable in
contact with the soil. The tree is to be found only in the vicinity of
salt water.
The honey from the mangrove is light in color, mild in flavor, and is
generally regarded as of first quality. According to E. G. Baldwin it
was the heaviest yielder of nectar known in the south prior to the big
freeze of 1895. In one year he reports Harry Mitchell, of Hawk’s Park,
as having secured an average of 380 pounds per colony from mangrove
alone. Following the freeze it failed to yield nectar in surplus
quantity for about fifteen years, and reports since that time have
indicated that it is not up to its former importance.
The blooming period opens about the middle of June and usually includes
the entire month of July. The flow usually lasts from six to eight
weeks.
BLACK TREE, see Black Mangrove.
BLACKWOOD, see Black Mangrove.
BLOODROOT (Sanguinaria canadensis).
The bloodroot is a common wild flower in the moist woods of all our
Northern States. It blooms early in April, and is eagerly sought by the
bees for pollen. The plant is shown at Fig. 24.
[Illustration: Fig. 24. The bloodroot is a source of early pollen.]
BLUEBERRY (Vaccinium).
There are at least four species of blueberry which give surplus honey
in localities where they are abundant. According to Sladen, the dwarf
or early sweet blueberry, (=Vaccinium pennsylvanicum=), and the
sour-top or velvet-leaf blueberry (=Vaccinium canadense=), often give
surplus in northern Ontario, northern Quebec and eastern Manitoba.
Blueberry honey is frequently reported from New England. W. J. Sheppard
reports that =Vaccinium ovalifolium= is of importance in British
Columbia.
There are several other species in the Northeastern States that
probably yield some nectar. Sladen reports blueberry as important in
Nova Scotia.
According to Lovell =Vaccinium corymbosum=, the high bush blueberry, is
important in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
in some localities beekeepers being principally dependent upon it. The
flow comes late in May or early June and lasts for about ten days.
Strong colonies store as high as 50 to 90 pounds of surplus from it. He
reports =V. pennsylvanicum=, the low bush blueberry already mentioned,
as common throughout northern New England, in pastures and on rocky
land. It is important in the blueberry barrens of Maine. The honey is
amber and of good flavor.
BLUEBONNET, see Lupine.
BLUEBOTTLE, see Centaurea.
BLUE CURLS (Trichostema lanceolatum).
Blue curls is a plant known by a great variety of names in California.
It is known as vinegar weed, camphor weed, turpentine weed, flea weed,
bastard-pennyroyal, etc. It abounds over a large portion of California.
According to Jepson, the range is throughout the Coast Ranges, Sierra
Nevada foothills and southern California. The Western Honeybee lists it
as the best fall honey plant in California. Both foliage and flowers
have a pungent, penetrating odor. The plant is found mostly in stubble
fields, where it appears after grain harvest. From the same source we
quote as follows:
“Under favorable atmospheric conditions it yields abundantly of a
very white honey, that granulates quickly and with a fine grain.
Sometimes it granulates before the bees have time to seal the cells.
One peculiarity of this plant is that it continues to yield honey for
several hours after falling to the ground. The quality of the honey
is good.”--Western Honeybee. October, 1914.
“It is often claimed that rain will end the honeyflow from blue
curls. I find by several seasons’ observation that this is an error.
If a rain is followed by favorable atmospheric conditions--warmth
and humidity--the nectar secretion is increased instead of
diminished.”--Western Honeybee, November, 1916.
The flow from blue curls begins in August and continues till frost.
Richter reports that very large yields are sometimes secured from this
source, tons of honey sometimes being stored in the vicinity of Fresno.
A report of an average of 80 pounds per colony from this source
reached the author when visiting at Visalia.
[Illustration: Fig. 25. The blue curl.]
BLUE GUM, see Eucalyptus.
BLUE LUPINE, see Lupine.
BLUET, see Centaurea.
BLUE THISTLE (Eryngium articulatum).
The blue thistle is listed by Richter as the source of a dark honey of
good flavor in California. He reports it from the Suisun Marshes, along
the Consumnes River and the Alvarado Marshes, blooming from August to
October.
BLUEVINE (Gonolobus laevis).
This plant is also known as devil’s shoestring, climbing milkweed, sand
vine, wild sweet potato vine and anglepod. It is a vine of luxuriant
growth, common on low lands from Virginia and Tennessee westward to
Missouri and south to Texas. It is common in Southern Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois, where it is a persistent and troublesome weed. It is
especially troublesome in the corn fields, where it may be found
climbing the stalks. A single vine will run for many feet on fence
wires or other support. It blooms freely through July and August, and
is the source of large quantities of surplus honey of good quality. The
honey is light in color, mild in flavor and does not granulate readily.
S. H. Burton, of Washington, Indiana, reports a yield of 60 pounds per
colony in three weeks and an average of as high as 80 pounds per colony
has been reported from Southern Indiana. From Missouri come similar
reports, W. L. Wiley, of Brunswick, reporting as much as 100 pounds
surplus from strong colonies.
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Seed pods and leaves of the bluevine, or
sandvine.]
The plant may be readily recognized by the abundant clusters of small,
white flowers, which are followed by seed pods similar to those of
the milkweed. When the pods are dry they split open and the seeds are
widely scattered by means of their cottony parachutes.
The honey is clear, heavy-bodied and of excellent flavor. The plant
grows chiefly in cornfields in river bottom land and is perennial. It
blooms before smartweed, but the smartweed honey is usually mixed with
it, as it comes in later.
BLUEWEED or VIPER’S BUGLOSS (Echium vulgare).
The blueweed, or viper’s bugloss, is a weed naturalized from Europe. It
is common in the meadows and roadsides of the Eastern States. It has
showy purple or blue flowers and grows about two feet high. June is
the flowering period. Sladen lists it as an important source of nectar
in Southern Ontario. Probably not sufficiently abundant to be very
important in many places.
This plant was introduced into Australia from Europe by a settler named
Patterson, and has become widely spread there, where it is known as
“Patterson’s curse.” Rayment states that it yields honey, but hardly
sufficient to store much in the supers. (Money in Bees in Australasia).
[Illustration: Fig. 27. Boneset yields in late summer and fall.]
BONESET (Eupatorium).
There are 475 species of =Eupatorium= known, many of them found in
Tropical America. Some are found in Europe, Asia and South America,
so that the plants have a wide range. Forty-five or more species are
common to North America. Whether nearly all yield nectar, we have no
records to prove. Fig. 27 shows =Eupatorium ageratoides=, a species
common from New England south to Tennessee and Georgia. According to
J. M. Buchanan, it is common over the State of Tennessee, but only
yields honey in the northern part. He reports the honey to be a light
amber, of strong flavor. The yield comes in August and September. Fig.
28 shows the white snakeroot (=E. urticaefolium=), a species common to
the woodlands of the Middle West. Although the bees visit this species
freely, from September until killed by frost, usually in October, the
honey yield is probably rather small.
The Joe-Pye weed or turnip weed (=E. purpureum=), is frequently
reported as yielding honey, and it is one of the most widely
distributed species. It is found from New Brunswick to Manitoba and
south to Colorado, Texas and Florida.
The boneset of commerce is made from thoroughwort (=E. perfoliatum=),
which is one of the best for honey in the Northern States and Canada.
All the bonesets are autumn bloomers, and the honey is usually mixed
with that of heartsease, asters, goldenrod, Spanish needles and other
plants blooming at the same period. Several years ago Professor Beal
made the statement, in the American Bee Journal, that there were
twenty species or more valuable to the bees. The wide distribution of
the group, together with the regularity of its yield, make it one of
special importance to the beekeeper, although the amount of surplus
gathered from boneset is not often as large as that of many other
well-known plants.
Some species of boneset are to be found in almost any kind of
situation. While white snakeroot grows in shady woodlands, other kinds
delight in open, sunny situations, along roadsides and in pastures
or waste places. Some do best on high lands, while others thrive in
low, wet land. In places in the Mississippi River bottoms in Illinois,
boneset, together with heartsease and Spanish needle, cover acres of
the richest land like a waving grain field.
[Illustration: Fig. 28. White snakeroot.]
An Illinois beekeeper reports =Eupatorium serotinum= to be one of the
best honey plants he knows.
BOOTJACK, see Spanish Needle.
BORAGE (Borago officinalis).
Borage is a European plant which is cultivated for honey and as an
ornamental. Its blue flowers are very attractive to the bees. The
following quotations indicate its value to the beekeeper:
“The period of blooming is from June 20 to cold weather. Where there
are no plants for bees to work upon, borage does very well; but
when white clover and basswood are in bloom, bees will forsake the
borage for them. As cold weather begins to come, they swarm to the
borage. It is a good honey plant, when there are no plants of greater
importance in bloom.”--Fisk Bangs, American Bee Journal, page 84,
1878.
“In Practicher Wegweiser, page 280, Herr Willhelm says that in
response to the general cry, ‘Sow borage,’ he has been sowing it
for years and now has it in abundance. How the bees do hum upon it!
But, alas! now that he has it in such abundance that it shows its
character in the surplus honey, he finds it such as no customer
wants, and says it is as black as a certain ‘gentleman’ with whom
beekeepers do not generally care to have dealings. The task of
getting it now rooted out is a difficult one.”--American Bee Journal,
page 103, 1908.
BOX ELDER (Negundo aceroides or Acer negundo).
The box elder, or ash-leaved maple, is a near relative of the maples,
and is sometimes included with them. Fig. 29 shows the staminate
blossoms of box elder. As in the willows, the stamens are borne on one
plant and the pistils on another.
[Illustration: Fig. 29. Blossoms of the box elder.]
The box elder is found from New England and Southern Canada west to
Dakota and southward. It is also common in California. Apparently its
range does not extend as far southward as other maples. It is very
commonly planted for windbreaks and shade in the prairie States of
the Central West. Some honey is yielded by the blossoms, and honeydew
is often secreted by aphis feeding on the leaves. While not generally
regarded as especially valuable, its season is such that its addition
to honey-producing flora is important. The blooms come very soon after
soft maple, in April.
BOSTON IVY (Ampelopsis veitchii).
The Boston ivy is a well-known climbing vine, clinging to the walls of
brick and stone buildings in all our northern cities. The flowers are
very attractive to the bees in midsummer and the bees store some honey
from this source. The quality is rather inferior.
BRASSICA, see Mustard.
BRAZIL or LOGWOOD (Condalia obovata).
Brazil or logwood is a spiny shrub, or small tree, common to Western
Texas. It occurs in the lower Rio Grande and is reported as a source of
honey at Brownsville. There it is smaller than farther north and west.
In places it forms very dense thickets, called “chaparral.” Beekeepers
report it as important in the fall, yielding a dark honey. The honey is
said to be of fine flavor, despite its dark color. The flow at Beeville
is reported as being very rapid. At Goliad, W. C. Collier reports
Brazil as the best all-round honey plant. He states that it blooms
sometimes in spring and sometimes in fall. Again, it sometimes blooms
several times, and yields at irregular periods. At Crystal City, the
honey from Brazil is reported as rank flavored, exactly opposite from
reports of quality in eastern parts of its range.
BRITISH COLUMBIA--Honey Plants of.
Indigenous honey-yielding flowers, Kootenays, B. C.:
Willows--Glauceus or pussy willow (=Salix discolor=). River bank
willow (=Salix longifolia=). Flower in March and April and probably
yield more pollen than honey.
Dandelion (=Taraxicum officinale=). Flowers in April and May.
Bearberry--Kinnikinnik (=Arctostaphylos Uva ursi=).
Blueberry (=Vaccinium ovalifolium=).
Huckleberry (=Gaylussacia resinosa=).
Choke cherry (=Prunus demissa=).
Bird or pin cherry (=Prunus pennsylvanica=).
Bearberry--Kinnikinnik (=Arctostaphylos Uva ursi=).
Wild raspberry (=Rubus=). Flowers in June.
Dogbane--Milkweed (=Apocynum androsaemifolium=). Spreading dogbane.
Snowberry (=Symphoricarpos racemosus=).
Wolfberry (=Symphoricarpos occidentalis=).
Canada thistle (=Cirsium arvense=). Flowers in June and July.
Willow herb or fireweed (=Epilobium angustifolium=).
Goldenrod (=Soladago canadense=). Flowers in July and August.
--W. J. Sheppard. American Bee Journal, Nov., 1917.
BROOMWEED (Gutierrezia texana).
Broomweed is a common fall plant over a large portion of Texas, on the
prairies. According to Scholl it yields well in September and October.
The honey is dark and strong and valued mostly for winter stores.
In the November 1, 1906, issue of American Bee Journal he writes as
follows concerning this plant:
“Broomweed is still in bloom, the pastures being one sheet of golden
yellow. Cold nights and cool, windy days have interfered with the
bees somewhat, but there are yet many warm days when the bees are
very busy. Some of my bees have stored a good deal of surplus from
this plant, for this time of the year--about 20 pounds per colony.
The honey is a golden yellow and has a somewhat strong taste, a
little bitter, and hence is not a suitable honey for market.”
BUCKBRUSH, see Indian Currant, also Snowberry and Dogbane.
BUCKEYE (Aesculus).
The buckeye or horse chestnut is widely distributed and well known
because of the poisonous properties of the peculiar nut-like fruit,
everywhere called buckeye. There are several species, with minor
differences. The photograph is of the blossoms of the Ohio buckeye
(=Aesculus glabra=). This species occurs from New England west to
Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma and south to Georgia, Alabama and east
Texas. There is a species common on the Pacific Coast known as the
California buckeye (=Aesculus californica=). This species is reported
as yielding considerable honey in some localities in California, and
some beekeepers think it is poisonous to the bees.
[Illustration: Fig. 30. Blossoms and leaves of buckeye or
horse-chestnut.]
The buckeye is widely mentioned as a honey plant, though there are
few localities where it is sufficiently abundant to be important as a
source of surplus.
BUCKTHORN (Rhamnus).
The common buckthorn (=Rhamnus cathartica=) is a hedge plant introduced
from Europe and commonly cultivated. It has become naturalized in some
localities.
In California there are three species reported as important sources of
honey. The coffee berry (=Rhamnus californica=) is an evergreen shrub 4
to 6 feet high, with olive-like leaves, common to the Coast Ranges and
the Sierra Nevada Mountains and southward. Called also pigeon berry.
Richter reports this species as yielding an amber honey of very heavy
body in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and also in San
Diego County. Honey of good flavor, slightly cathartic.
The redberry (=Rhamnus crocea=) occurs in the Napa Range and southward
near the coast to southern California, according to Jepson. It is
tree-like, with a distinct trunk, sometimes several stems clustered, 5
to 12 feet high. Richter reports it of special value for early breeding.
The Cascara Sagrada or Chittam (=Rhamnus purshiana=) occurs in northern
California, where it is reported as an important source of amber honey.
In the timbered portions of western Oregon, Washington and British
Columbia, it is reported as one of the chief sources of honey. The
honey is amber, with a delightful aroma. When fully ripened it is too
thick to extract readily, and there is much breakage of combs. The
flow begins in May and the honey is usually mixed with that from other
plants. The blooming period lasts about a month.
“We get more honey from cascara than from any other one plant in this
vicinity. It is so dark as a comb honey that it is a poor seller to
those who go on looks alone. We prefer it on our table to any other
honey. I have customers who will take no other. It is not purgative,
but one of the best remedies for chronic constipation known. I
have never known any of the pure article to granulate under any
conditions.”--A. D. Herold, Gleanings, Jan. 1, 1910.
BUCKWHEAT (Fagopyrum esculentum).
Buckwheat is a native to Asia, which was early introduced into America
from Europe by the colonists. It has become an important field crop,
and buckwheat flour is a staple in American markets. It is often sowed
as a catch crop on lands that have not been ready for early sown crops,
or where the first sowed crop failed to secure a stand. It requires a
short season in which to reach maturity and is usually sown in June or
July. It needs a cool, moist climate for best results and often fails
to yield a satisfactory crop of grain or to secrete nectar in the hot
and dry atmosphere of Iowa and Nebraska.
It is well suited to sandy or other light soils and is grown
extensively in the sandy lands of northern Michigan.
Buckwheat is an important source of surplus honey in the region of the
Great Lakes. Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan are the
States from which come the great crops of buckwheat honey. Although the
crop is often grown further west, the amount of honey secured is very
disappointing in most cases. The author corresponded with a number of
prominent Iowa beekeepers, and found only one who had secured surplus
honey from buckwheat to any extent, and his was mixed with other
sources to such an extent as to have a very different color and flavor
from that which is secured unmixed.
It was given a trial at the Texas Agricultural College for a period of
three years. It failed to meet expectations as a honey plant on account
of the hot and dry weather which prevails there during most summers. It
was reported as blooming profusely, but not yielding nectar.
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Buckwheat field in bloom.]
In New York it is regarded as one of the best honey plants. The late
E. W. Alexander, writing in Gleanings, stated that he had kept 200
colonies in a location with scarcely 100 acres of buckwheat within
four miles, yet had harvested 15 to 20 pounds of section honey from
buckwheat per colony. He stated that it yielded best with cool nights
followed by a clear sky and a hot sun, with little or no wind. Under
such conditions it secreted nectar freely from about 9 a. m. to 2 p.
m. No bees would be seen on it earlier or later in the day. On one
occasion, when there were 1,500 acres of buckwheat within reach of his
bees, they were gathering fast at the beginning of the August harvest.
A thunder storm caused the temperature to drop 21 degrees in less than
half an hour. The weather remained cloudy and windy, with a temperature
of about 65 degrees, for eleven days. During that time the bees
gathered no honey, and destroyed much of their brood.--Gleanings, March
15, 1907.
The Ontario Association’s Crop Report Committee reported an average per
colony production of 23 pounds from the more than ten thousand colonies
belonging to its members for two years in succession. A writer in the
American Bee Journal asserts that in a favorable season an acre of
buckwheat will yield 25 pounds of honey daily, and that a strong colony
within half a mile of a field, will store six to eight pounds per day.
Alexander kept as high as 700 colonies in one yard, at his home near
Delanson, New York, and secured satisfactory crops, though, of course,
there was a large acreage within reach.