Such material as the bees may store as honey, which is not secured
from the nectaries of plants, is usually spoken of as honeydew. There
are numerous exudations of plants which attract the bees and which can
hardly be regarded as nectar, to which the term honeydew may well be
applied.
The main source of honeydew, however, is from insects rather than from
plants. Aphids, scale insects and leaf hoppers yield this sugar in
great abundance. These sucking insects are often found on various trees
or plants in large colonies, feeding on the sap; while bees and ants
gather to feed upon their excretions. At times aphids are so abundant
that they eject honeydew in such quantity as to cover the leaves
on lower levels with the sticky substance, till the drops give the
impression that it might have rained. The bees gather honeydew readily
in the absence of a natural honeyflow, carry it to the hive and seal it
in their combs the same as honey.
The quality of most honeydew is inferior and it brings a low price in
the markets, being in most demand for baking purposes. Since there is
a much larger percentage of gums in honeydew than in honey it makes a
poor food for winter stores. The excess matter clogs the intestines of
the bees, and where they are confined on such stores for long periods
without an opportunity for cleansing flight, a heavy mortality results.
There are hundreds of references to honeydew in the beekeeping
literature. A few are given here to indicate the extent to which bees
gather this insect product:
“The most copious flow of honeydew I ever saw was in 1897. It was
from the pine. In early morning and late in the evening it could be
seen dripping from the leaves, till all the leaves and even the bare
ground beneath them were covered with the nectar. The bees swarmed
over the trees and the hives were filled as I had never seen them
before. The honey was light amber and of fine flavor, and gave my
customers the best of satisfaction. While this flow was on, there was
scarcely any honeydew to be found except on the pines, and every pine
was dripping with it.”--C. C. Parsons, Alabama. American Bee Journal,
page 546, 1899.
“We have had the heaviest honeydew flow ever known in this part of
the State. We have tons of the stuff.”--Scholl. American Bee Journal,
August, 1910.
“My bees stored a quantity of honeydew which granulated in the combs
as fast as stored.”--South Carolina. American Bee Journal, August,
1910.
“Of 250 colonies of bees in this town last fall there are not more
than 20 left. It is not the winter that kills the bees, but poor
honey. Honeydew is half an inch deep all over my honeyhouse floor; it
soured and ran out of the combs where I packed up my hives. The bees
will not touch the horrid stuff, nor can I get a swarm to go into
a hive with one frame of it on one side, and good clean combs and
frames of brood for the rest.”--Vermont. American Bee Journal, page
458, 1904.
“Bees are working on honeydew, the trees just glistening with it. I
have several hundred pounds of it in the supers. It is bad looking
stuff, not fit to eat or sell.”--Iowa. American Bee Journal, page
537, 1904.
Not all honeydew is of such bad color and flavor. There are numerous
reports of honeydew of such flavor and quality that it finds a
ready sale in competition with good honey. However, it is usually
unsatisfactory for winter stores for the bees, regardless of its source.
HONEY LOCUST (Gleditsia triacanthos). THORNY LOCUST.
The honey locust is a well-known tree from Pennsylvania and Ontario to
Florida and westward to Texas and Kansas. It prefers rich bottom lands,
seldom being found on dry hillsides. The tree has spreading branches
and very long, red brown thorns. The thorns are often branched and
sometimes nearly a foot in length. At times they cover the trunk of the
tree in great abundance. The flowers appear in May or June.
While the honey locust is the source of considerable nectar, it is not
equal to the black locust (=Robinia pseudo-acacia=). (See Locust.)
The two species are often confused, although the long thorns peculiar
to the honey locust should distinguish it readily.
There are numerous reports to the effect that the bees work freely on
honey locust, but it is seldom regarded as a source of surplus, while
the black locust yields abundantly for a short period, under favorable
conditions.
HONEY POD, see Mesquite.
HONEYSUCKLE (Lonicera).
The honeysuckles are rich in nectar, but most species have corolla
tubes of such depth as to be beyond the reach of the honeybee. There
are numerous reports of the bees seeking nectar from such species as
they can reach, and from Minnesota come reports of the bush honeysuckle
as an important plant. (See Bush Honeysuckle).
HOPS (Humulus Lupulus).
The common hop plant is too well known to need description. It is
common from New England to British Columbia and southward. It is very
generally cultivated for making yeast and for medicinal purposes. The
small greenish flowers are wind-pollenated. It furnishes pollen in
abundance, but no nectar. (Fig. 75).
[Illustration: Fig. 75. Hops furnish pollen, but are not important to
the beekeeper.]
HOP-TREE (Ptelea trifoliata), SHRUBBY TREFOIL.
The hop-tree occurs from New England and Ontario south to Florida and
westward to Michigan, Illinois and Missouri to central Texas. It is a
shrub or small tree known also as wahoo and quinine tree. The bitter
fruit is sometimes used as a substitute for hops. The flowers have a
disagreeable odor. Scholl lists the honey yield as good, and very good,
in favorable seasons, where the shrub is abundant. The California
hop-tree (=Ptelea crenulata=) occurs in the western foothills of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the Coast ranges. Its bloom has an
agreeable aromatic odor. The author can find no reports that indicate
it is regarded as important to the beekeepers of that region.
There are numerous reports to the effect that the hop-tree is a good
source of nectar in the Eastern States.
HORSE CHESTNUT, see Buckeye.
[Illustration: Fig. 76. Horsemint (_Monarda punctata_.) The source of
the well-known horsemint honey.]
HORSEMINT (Monarda).
There are several species of horsemint, known also as bee balm, wild
bergamot, etc. Some of the species are represented from New England to
Texas. Figure 77 shows =M. fistulosa=, the wild bergamot of the North.
The corolla tubes are so deep that, as a rule, the bees are unable
to reach the nectar. In some cases it is reported as yielding freely
and the author has seen times when the bees were apparently getting
considerable nectar from this species. Whether the nectar secretion
is unusually abundant or the corolla tubes shortened more than is
commonly the case, the author will not venture an opinion. In parts of
Wisconsin, =M. punctata= (Fig. 76), according to D. L. H. Pammel, can
be depended upon to yield an abundance of nectar every season. This is
probably the most important species to the beekeeper. It is found more
or less commonly on sandy soil from New York to Minnesota and south to
Florida and Texas. In Texas it is the source of very large quantities
of surplus honey in seasons following wet winters and springs. The
honey is a clear light amber with a decided minty flavor. It is one
of the most important sources in Texas, where, together with =M.
clinopodioides=, it is regarded very highly. In the Arkansas Valley of
southern Kansas horsemint is also important, yielding as high as fifty
pounds of surplus per colony.
[Illustration: Fig. 77. Wild Bergamot (_Monarda fistulosa_). The
corolla tubes are usually too deep for the bees to reach the nectar.]
HOUND’S-TONGUE (Cynoglossum officinale).
Hound’s-tongue is a weed introduced from Europe. It is now common in
parts of Canada and the Northwestern States and occurs in Missouri and
Arkansas, and from the Ohio Valley to the Carolinas and north Georgia.
It is named from the shape and texture of the leaf. The illustration
(Fig. 78) was photographed in open woods near Guelph, Ontario. There it
is frequently mentioned as a good honey plant.
[Illustration: Fig. 78. Hound’s tongue.]
HUAJILLA, see Acacia.
HUCKLEBERRY (Gaylussacia).
There are several species of huckleberry common to the Eastern
States. The common huckleberry of the markets, the black huckleberry
(=Gaylussacia baccata=) is common from Eastern Canada to Minnesota and
south to Georgia, in rocky woodlands and swamps. This species also
occurs on the Pacific Coast, and W. J. Sheppard reports it is a honey
plant in British Columbia. (Fig. 79).
Lovell reports that it is very abundant on Cape Cod and yields every
year.
[Illustration: Fig. 79. Black huckleberry.]
HUISACHE, see Acacia.
HYDROPHYLLUM, see Virginia Waterleaf.
I
IDAHO--Honey Sources of.
The principal sources of honey in northern Idaho are fireweed,
snowberry, alsike and white clovers. Secondary sources are dandelion,
Indian hemp, grindelia and goldenrod.--H. A. Scullen.
In the southern part of the State alfalfa and sweet clover are the
source of large quantities of surplus. Minor plants are probably
similar to those of Colorado.
ILEX, see Holly, also Gallberry.
INDIAN BEAN, see Catalpa.
INDIAN CORN or MAIZE (Zea mays).
Indian corn is native to North America and was cultivated by the
Indians at the time of the discovery of the continent. It has become
one of the most important grain crops and is grown in large acreage. It
furnishes an abundance of pollen in mid-summer and the bees work upon
the tassels so freely as to give rise to a very general impression that
it furnishes honey in abundance. At times, aphides are to be found upon
the stalk and the bees also get a sweet substance from the axils of the
leaves. While on infrequent occasions the bees may get honeydew from
Indian corn, its principal value to the beekeeper is as a source of
pollen.
“If the weather is favorable for the reproduction of plant lice, we
may always expect them to attack the tassel, making the top leaves
sticky and discolored. I have seen the bees pile on the tassel until
you could scarcely see anything but the bees gathering this honeydew.
The honey thus obtained is dark, but of very fair flavor.”--Wm. R.
Howard, White Rock, Texas. American Bee Journal, page 225. May, 1880.
W. K. Morrison, writing in Gleanings, states as follows regarding corn:
“Corn is not generally set down as a yielder of the nectar sublime,
but in tropical countries it is a very valuable honey plant, showing
the importance of locality, showing also that corn is a native of the
tropics. (Aug. 1, 1905.)
[Illustration: Fig. 80. Indian currant in bloom.]
INDIAN CURRANT (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus).
The Indian currant, also known as coral berry or buckbrush, is a widely
distributed shrub that furnishes considerable nectar in late summer.
It may be found in the woodland borders and open forest from New York,
west to the Dakotas, south to Missouri and Arkansas, and from New
Jersey south along the mountains to Georgia and Alabama.
[Illustration: Fig. 81. Indian currant or buckbrush, showing fruit.]
The blossoms are very small and inconspicuous (Fig. 80), but where the
plant is abundant it is much sought by the bees. In southeastern Iowa,
the season of 1914 was a very poor one for the bees, and many colonies
required feeding to get them through the winter. In a few localities,
where buckbrush abounds, they not only were well prepared for winter,
but stored some surplus. The blooming season is July and August in most
Northern States, so that the clover harvest is usually nearly over when
it comes on. Figure 81 shows the bunches of red berries that hang on
the bushes after the leaves have withered and dropped, which will be
instantly recognized by anyone familiar with the plant. These berries
are often about the only winter food available for small birds when the
ground is covered with snow.
The snowberry (=S. racemosus=) (Fig. 82), is a related species with
white berries. It occurs from New England west to Nebraska and Dakota,
also on the North Pacific Coast. The plant is quite similar to the
red-berried species in habit and growth and is also often called
buckbrush.
[Illustration: Fig. 82. Snowberry in bloom.]
ILLINOIS--Honey Sources of.
There are but few important honey plants in Illinois. It is a clover
State. White clover, alsike and sweet clover furnish the principal
sources of surplus on the uplands, with heartsease and Spanish needle
on the low lands. Maples and willows are important for early spring
nectar, followed by fruit bloom and dandelion. There are numerous minor
sources which add something to the product of the hive, but the above
short list includes the important sources of surplus honey. In a few
localities boneset and asters yield some surplus in the fall. Basswood,
once important, has disappeared from most of the honey-producing
districts, where it formerly produced large surplus. For list of minor
plants, see Indiana.
INDIANA--Honey and Pollen Plants of.
Skunk cabbage, March.
Silver maple, March-April.
Red maple, March-April,
Box elder, March-April.
Willow, March-April.
Elm, March-April.
Judas tree, April-May.
Dandelion, April-September.
Crowfoot, April-May.
Sugar maple, April-May.
Fruit trees, April-May.
Ground ivy, May-August.
Currant and gooseberry, May.
Buckeye, May.
Grapevine, May.
Black locust, May.
Honey locust, May-June.
Poplar (tulip-tree), May-June.
Raspberry, May-June.
Blackberry, May-June.
White clover, May-June-July.
Alsike, June-July.
Red clover, June-July.
Sweet clover, June till frost.
Basswood, June or July.
Mustard, June till frost.
Button bush, July.
Teasel, July.
Catnip, July and August.
Cucumber, melons, etc., July-August.
Marsh milkweed, July-August.
Sumac, August.
Boneset, July till frost.
Figwort, July till frost.
Buckwheat, August.
Ironweed, July till frost.
Jewelweed, August-September.
Smartweed, August-September.
Goldenrod, August till frost.
Asters, August till frost.
Marsh sunflower, August till frost.
Spanish needle (=Coreopsis=), August.
Beggarticks, August.
--Second Annual Report, Inspector of Apiaries, Indiana.
INDIAN FIG, see Prickly Pear.
INDIAN HEMP, see Dogbane.
INKBERRY, see Gallberry.
IOWA--Honey Sources of.
Willows and maples furnish first nectar of importance in early spring.
This is followed by the blooming of the wild plums and cultivated
fruits. Next dandelion blooms in profusion for most of the time
intervening between fruit bloom and white clover. White clover is the
main source of surplus over the entire State, excepting a few small
areas where sweet clover exceeds it in importance. Alsike is important
in some sections. On rough lands along streams buckbrush or Indian
currant gives surplus in midsummer. Heartsease is valuable on low
lands over the State and on higher lands in the vicinity of ploughed
fields in wet seasons. Asters, boneset, Spanish needle and numerous
other fall flowers add something to the production of the hives, but in
few localities can be said to be important. Basswood was once of great
value to Iowa beekeepers, but has largely been cut down.
[Illustration: Fig. 83. Clump of common ironweed in bloom.]
IRONWEED (Vernonia).
There are many species of the ironweeds to be found in many countries.
They are common in Asia and Africa, as well as North America. They
are common from New England south to Florida and west to Dakota and
Texas. Figure 84 shows the flowers of the western ironweed (=Vernonia
fasciculata=) and Figure 83 a clump of the common ironweed (=Vernonia
Baldwini=). In the middle west they grow very commonly in pastures, and
the purple blossoms are very conspicuous in late summer. At times the
bees work them very eagerly, but it is doubtful whether they are often
of much value as a source of surplus.
[Illustration: Fig. 84. Blossoms of western ironweed.]
IRONWOOD, see Coma, also Titi.
IVYWOOD, see Laurel.
J
JACKASS CLOVER or STINKWEED (Wislizenia refracta).
Jackass clover or stinkweed is a rank scented annual plant with yellow
flowers, growing two to six feet high. It is common from Sacramento
to Lathrop and southward in the San Joaquin Valley, according to
Jepson.--Flora of Middle Western California.
It is an important honey plant in the interior valleys, where it is
reported as blooming freely only every other year. The blooming period
is from August to December. C. R. Snyder, of Selma, regards it as a
main source. He reports as high as 100 pounds of surplus per colony. He
usually extracts two or three times from this source in September, and
has extracted as late as December. A heavy rain or a frost will stop
the flow. The honey is light and of good quality. A sample presented to
the author is a light amber with a peculiar flavor, unlike our eastern
honey. The flavor reminds one somewhat of butter-scotch candy. It is
rather strong, but agreeable.
Richter comments on this plant as follows:
“Honey water white, mild in flavor and of good body; granulates in
three to six months, when it resembles a paste made from powdered
sugar. The very fact that it is spreading so rapidly over the
poor lands of the San Joaquin Valley, and that it produces the
only water-white honey, with the exception of blue-curls, as far
as the writer knows, that is produced in the late fall, has led
to the conclusion that jackass clover will be one of the greatest
honey-producing plants of the State, and may in future rank next to
sage and alfalfa. During the fall of 1909 a Fresno beekeeper reported
that he extracted thirty pounds per colony each week for six weeks
from this source. Another beekeeper of the San Joaquin Valley relates
that during the jackass clover flow the noise was terrific, and that
home-coming bees flew so slowly that they could be picked out of the
air. It was Henry T. Christman, of Colinga, who first became aware of
its value as a honey plant and gave it its present name.”
JASMINE, See Yellow Jasmine.
JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE, see Sunflower.
JEWEL-WEED or Touch-Me-Not (Impatiens).
The jewel-weed (Fig. 85) is common in wet places and along small
streams in shady situations. Some are to be found from Alaska to
New England and south to Florida and Louisiana. The plant has an
odd hanging blossom, as shown in the picture. It is often called
touch-me-not, from the sudden bursting of the seed pod when touched.
[Illustration: Fig. 85. Jewel weed, or touch-me-not.]
It is usually regarded as a bumblebee flower rather than a bee flower,
but is reported as a source of honey in both Michigan and Wisconsin,
where it is quite common in places.
JOE-PYE WEED, see Boneset.
JOINTED CHARLOCK, see Radish.
JUDAS-TREE, see Red-Bud.
JUNE-BUD, see Red-Bud.
K
KANSAS--Honey Sources of.
Sweet clover probably ranks first as a honey plant in Kansas. It yields
surplus honey from east to west in the State and succeeds on high,
dry land as well as in the river valleys. In some parts of the State,
surplus honey is secured from no other crop. In the Arkansas Valley
alfalfa is also important and yields freely. Hoarhound, heartsease
and wild sunflowers also yield surplus. White clover is uncertain in
most of Kansas and only yields honey occasionally under favorable
conditions. The Arkansas Valley is excellent beekeeping territory and
the yields there compare favorably with the best elsewhere. The first
nectar comes from soft maples in late February or March. Elms furnish
early pollen and willows along the streams furnish both nectar and
pollen. There are many orchards in Kansas and fruit bloom is important,
surplus occasionally being gathered from apple blossoms. Horsemint is
important in the southern part of the State, as high as 50 pounds per
colony of surplus being reported from this source.
KENTUCKY--Honey Sources of.
H. R. Niswonger, in Circular 69, Extension Division of the College of
Agriculture, gives the following as important sources of nectar in
Kentucky:
“Fruit trees and bush fruits of considerable importance, sometimes
yielding surplus.
“Crimson clover, very important, coming before white clover.
“Alsike clover, comparing well with the yield from white clover.
“White clover usually yields a heavy surplus.
“Red clover, sometimes worked by bees on second blooming.
“Sweet clover, one of the most important, blooming for four weeks or
more.
“Sour-wood, one of the principal sources in the mountain sections.
“Linden, also important in mountain sections.
“Buckwheat, important, coming when there is a dearth of other plants
in bloom.
“Goldenrod yields an abundance of nectar.
“Aster yields in late autumn, often sufficient to carry the bees
through the winter, sometimes some surplus, also.
“Many forest trees infested with plant lice yield large quantities of
honeydew.”
In addition to the above list the following are taken from a
contribution to American Bee Journal by Mr. N. P. Allen, of Smith’s
Grove, Kentucky:
“Elm, elder, hazel and willow for early pollen.
“Maples.
“Red-bud or Judas tree.
“Black locust.
“Blackberry and raspberry.
“Poplar (tulip-tree), begins to bloom about the middle of May and
yields more honey than any forest tree.
“Prickly ash and sumac.
“Yellow-wood and coral berry in July.”
KINNIKINICK (Rhus virens).
Kinnikinick is a sumac which grows from the Colorado River to the Rio
Grande and westward. The Indians and Mexicans mix the leaves with
tobacco and smoke them. It grows in large quantity in the hills some
distance north of Uvalde, Texas, and blooms from September till frost,
with sufficient rain. Local beekeepers report that as high as sixty
pounds of honey per colony is sometimes secured from this source. The
honey is said to be green in color, with a rank, strong taste, and
does not granulate. The combs are capped very white when the bees are
working on kinnikinick. This should not be confused with the species
of dogwood which is also commonly called by the same name. There are
several species of sumac which are valuable honey plants. (See sumac;
also dogwood).
KNAPWEED, see Star Thistle.
KNOCKAWAY or ANAQUA (Ehretia elliptica).
The anaqua is a common tree with small white flowers in open panicles
and oval leaves, which is common from New Braunfels, Texas south to
the lower Rio Grande. It is commonly reported as a valuable source of
nectar by Texas beekeepers.
KNOTWEED, see Heartsease.
L
LADIES’ EAR DROPS, see Brunnichia.
LADY’S THUMB, see Heartsease.
LAMBKILL, see Laurel.
[Illustration: Fig. 86. Sheep laurel, or lambkill.]
LAUREL (Kalmia).
The mountain laurel (=Kalmia latifolia=), also known as calico-bush or
spoon-wood and in the Southern States as poison ivy, is a common shrub
occurring in the higher altitudes from New England and Ontario south to
the Gulf States. It is widely credited as being the source of poisonous
honey. (See Poisonous Honey). The sheep laurel or lambkill (Fig. 86)
is a closely related species which occurs from Newfoundland and west
to Michigan and south to north Georgia. They are shrubs with showy
flowers which are not often reported as important honey plants. In some
places, hillsides are covered with the mountain laurel, which makes a
pleasing sight when in bloom. These plants are so well known that a
great variety of common names have become known in different localities.
According to Sladen, the sheep laurel (=Kalmia angustifolia=) is one of
the important sources of honey in Nova Scotia.
LAUREL-TREE, see Red Bay.
LEATHERWOOD, see Ti-ti.
LEMON (Citrus limon).
The lemon is a valuable source of honey in southern California, though
much less is heard of it than of orange. It is cultivated principally
in the coast region, and Richter suggests that the proximity to the
ocean of the principal lemon groves may account for the fact that it
does not yield as well as orange. Unlike other fruit trees, it blooms
more or less continuously throughout the year. This again would make
its real value less apparent, since a plant which yields a little
nectar for a long period of time may give a total greater than one
which gives a heavy yield for a short period. It is noted, also, that
oranges yield less freely along the coast than in the interior valleys.
LETTUCE (Lactuca floridana).
Figure 87 will give a good idea of the height to which the wild blue
lettuce grows. It is common in the woodland borders, in rich soil, from
Pennsylvania to Iowa and south to Florida and Texas. The plant produces
hundreds of blue flowers in late summer and early fall. Although it is
of no special importance as a honey plant, the bees visit it frequently
and apparently get some nectar from its blossoms. In the South it is
reported as blooming in May and June. The writer does not recall having
seen it in bloom in Iowa earlier than August, while it blooms into
September. There are a considerable number of species of wild lettuce,
some of which, like the prickly lettuce, become very troublesome weeds.
The writer has not observed the bees working to any extent on any
except the blue fall lettuce above described.
[Illustration: Fig. 87. Wild lettuce is a tall growing plant.]
LEONURUS, see Motherwort.
LIGNUM-VITAE, see Soapbush.
LILAC, see Mountain Lilac.
LIME (Citrus acida).
The lime is a fruit very similar to the lemon, which has been
introduced to some extent into the citrus districts. Since it is not
generally grown it is not very important, though it yields honey freely.
LIMETREE, see Basswood.
LINDEN, see Basswood.
LION’S TAIL, see Motherwort.
LIPPIA GRASS, see Carpet Grass.
LIQUORICE (Glycyrrhiza lepidota).
The wild liquorice is a plant of the pulse family occurring from
Minnesota to Missouri and westward to Washington and Arizona. It is
found in Colorado and Wyoming at 4,000 to 8,000 feet altitude. It is
reported as quite abundant in places in Wyoming, and some years as
being a great yielder of nectar.
LIVE OAK, see Oak.