BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The mayweed or dog fennel is an old-world weed extensively naturalized from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and west to Texas. It is common along roadsides, in barn lots and waste places generally. Lovell credits it with yielding a honey that is light yellow in color and very bitter. It is seldom mentioned as a source of nectar.
Richter states that because of its blooming between spring and summer it is of considerable value to many Sacramento Valley beekeepers.
**MEDICAGO, see Alfalfa.**
**MELIA, see China Tree.**
**MELILOTUS, see Sweet Clover.**
**MELISSA, see Bee Balm.**
**MELONS (Cucumis melo).**
Melons are valuable sources of honey. In locations where they are grown in large acreage, as in the Rocky Ford district of Colorado, considerable quantities of honey are stored from them. There are numerous varieties of muskunelons, cantelounes, etc., but apparently there is not much difference in the value of the various sorts to the bekeeper.
As with cucumbers and pumpkins, the male and female blossoms are on different parts of the stem. Bees and insects carry the pollen from one to another, if in close proximity, and often cause hybridization.
**MENTZELIA.**
**Mentzeli speciosa** is a conspicuous plant along roadsides and waste places in Colorado. Its large white blossoms are closed during the heat of the day, but beekeepers report that the bees work upon it freely in early morning and late evening. It is probably not important.
In Oregon the stickleaf **(Mentzelia albicaulis)** grows freely on day, stony land. It has a spreading habit and its pale orange colored flowers are very attractive to the bees.
**MESQUITE (Prosopis glandulosa).**
The mesquite, or mezqui, is the most important plant of the arid regions from central Texas to New Mexico and eastern California. At a distance it has much the appearance of an aged peach tree. A northernman riding through the mesquite region on the train, for the first time, remarked that he had never seen such extensive peach orchards in his life. The tree is much branched and spreading in habit and is the source of fuel for the inhabitants of the region. Live stock also are fond of the leaves and pods and the Indians of the Southwest eat the seeds, first grinding them into meal and baking them.
The same or a closely related species is common in Hawaii, where it is known as algaroba. There it is one of the most important sources of honey. (See Hawaii). This species is sometimes called honey-pod or honey-locust, although the true honey-locust is a very different tree.
In the desert regions of California it is an important source of large quantities of honey, as it is in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. In southwest Texas mesquite is the principal source. The honey is light amber and of good quality. Beckcepers report that it is lighter in color some years than others, even though nothing is blooming at the same season, so the difference cannot be laid to a mixture of honey from different sources. The quality of mesquite honey is good. It is reported to yield more regularly on sandy land than on heavy soil.
There are two blooming periods, the first in spring, usually in April, and the second in July. If there has been plenty of moisture previously the mesquite blooms profusely, due to the fact that it roots very deeply and can reach any moisture that is available in the soil.
**MEXICAN CLOVER (Richardia scabra).**
The name clover is a misnomer, for this plant does not belong to the clovers but to an entirely different group. It is a luxurian annual weed growing to a height of two feet or more. The bees are reported as working upon it quite late in the season.
The plant was introduced from the tropics and has become naturalized in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
**MICHIGAN--Honey Sources of.**
While Michigan is within the clover belt, there are a greater variety of sources of surplus honey than in most nearby States. In spring, willows, maples, fruit bloom and dandelion have the usual importance. Both white and alsike clover yield surplus in Michigan. To these may be added wild raspberry, fireweed or willow herb and milkweeds, all of which are important sources of surplus honey in the northern part of the State. Basswood was formerly important and still produces surplus in some sections, though many of the basswood forests have been cut. Backwheat is also a source of surplus in some parts of Michigan, though according to E. D. Townsend surplus from buckwheat is only to be expected on "a rather poor quality of sandy soil." Townsend says, further, that alsike is worth all other sources put together in the southern two-thirds of the lower peninsula, and that aster yields surplus in Sanilac County.--Gleanings, page 1184, 1908.
**MIGNONETTE (Reseda odorata). COMMON MIGNONETTE.**
The minonette of our gardens is a native of Egypt which came to America by way of Europe. It is frequently mentioned as a honey plant, especially in older literature. Some extravagant claims have been made for it, but perhaps it has never been given a fair test on a sufficiently large scale to demonstrate fully its value. The following extract from an article which appeared in the American Bee Journal, Page 47, 1878, is of interest in this connection:
"After being started under diligent cultivation it was astonishing to see the rapid progress which they made. The plants soon covered the ground, where soil was good, and were out in blossom in a short time, and from that time forward the bees were working on them by the thousand from morning till late afternoon. I have seen them thick on it by 8 o'clock. It yields pollen as well as honey. * * * "I have found that on account of the spikes of the blossom being so much longer, the bees must work on the larger varieties. I have some sorts which stand two feet high, the spikes being from eight to ten inches long. * * *
"A correspondent from California stated that he thought an acre of mignonette would be adequate for a hundred colonies. + * *
"When you give them this in addition to what they would otherwise have, it will certainly secure an immense addition to the honey produced. There is no plant within the range of our knowledge as valuable for bee forage as mignonette. It will bloom year after year if not disturbed by frost and gives a longer period of bloom than any other plant. It gives more blossoms in a given space and more forage than any plant we have ever seen. Honey from this plant has the most deflections fragrance of any we have ever tasted."--William Thompson. It was later tested at the Michigan Agricultural College, but Professor Cook failed to bear out the above claims. He reported as follows:
"I expected great things of this plant, as the bee papers were very high in their praise of its qualities. June 23 it began to blossom, and it was not till the 27th that the bees began their work upon it. They did not seem to take to it very readily, for on every occasion that I made observations, I found very few bees present. With us it proved a failure. Others have corroborated this statement. * * It is rather a delicate plant for this climate."--Page 83, A. B. J., 1878.
It is listed by Richter in Bulletin 217, "Honey Plants of California," with the statement that it is "very much visited by bees whenever in bloom."
### MILK VETCH (Astragalus).
The milk vetch is a close relative of the loco (see Loco), and like the loco is visited by the bees. Some species are of some value for honey, especially in the plains region west of the Missouri River.
### MILKWEED (Asclepias).
The milkweeds are a large family of plants common to the temperate and tropical regions of many parts of the world. North America alone has 55 recognized species. These plants are also known as butterfly weeds and milkweeds. The blossoms are borne in large ball-shaped clusters as shown in Figure 92. The seeds are attached to sixteen parachutes, on which they are carried by the wind. It is these silky attachments that give rise to the name "silkweed." Remarkable yields of honey are sometimes secured from milkweeds. An average yield of 100 pounds per colony from this source is occasionally reported through the bee magazines.
Much has been written about the entangling of bees in the pollen masses of milkweed. It frequently happens that bees thus entangled are unable to free themselves and die as a result. Some species of milkweed is included in nearly every list of honey plants which the author has consulted. Apparently it may be regarded as of some value almost everywhere. The honey is said to be light in color and of good quality.
It is of special importance in northern Michigan, where it grows in great abundance, as shown by Figure 93. In some locations beekeepers report an average per colony production of 50 pounds, year after year, from milkweed.
## 11.1. **Milkweed VINE, see Bluevine.**
**MINNESOTA-Honey Sources of.**
In early spring the willows and maples, followed by dandelions are important for spring brood rearing. Fruit bloom is also valuable in spring. White clover and alsike are the most important sources of surplus. Probably there is no place in the world where these clovers yield nectar more abundantly than in Minnesota. Sweet clover is also important in some sections of the State. Willow herb or fireweed, basswood, goldenrod and asters may be mentioned.
**MINT (Mentha).**
Richter lists the spearmint, or peppermint, **(Mentha spicata),** as yielding a great abundance of amber colored honey in Sacramento County, California and southward. Spearmint was introduced from Europe and has escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in many places, both east and west.
He also lists the tule mint **(Mentha canadensis)** as yielding honey from
Figure 92. Biosystems of the milkweed.
July to October. The minus belong to an important group of honey plants and where sufficiently common are valuable. They should not be confused with hedge nettle, which is locally called unit in many places. (See Hedge Netifle).
**MIISSISSIPPI--Honey Sources of.**
Along the eastern border of the State there is a large area where sweet clever is widely disseminated. In this section large yields of surplus honey iron this source are reported. An average yield of 140 pounds per colony of surplus from 700 colonies in one yard near Prairie Point has been reported to the author by a prominent Mississippi apirist.
Willow, maple, fruit bloom and elu are reported as important for early pollen and nectar. White clever yields some honey in the northern part of the State. Persimmon is given as an important source of dark honey. Bitterweed yields freely, but the quality is so poor as to be of little value. Tupelo and cotton are valuable in some sections of the State. There is some fall honey from asters and goldenrod.
The coast region offers a vast area of gallberry and there is much tilt along the streams. There are some very good unoccupied locations in Mississippi which offer great possibilities for honey production.
**MIISSOURI CURRANT, see Buffalo Current.**
Figure 9a: In Northern Michigan milktreeds grow abundantly over large areas and are the source of much surplus honey.
MISSOURI-Honey Sources of.
White clover is the one principal source of honey in Missouri. Sweet clover yields surplus in some localities. In the low lands along the Mississippi River, heartsease, Spanish needle and honest are also important. In many places south of the Missouri River, bitterweed yields some nectar, which is often mixed with the better honey and spoils the quality. Bluevine **(Gonolobus laevis)** yields surplus in a few localities. In the vicinity of Brunswick as much as 100 pounds of surplus per colony has been reported,
Only a small portion of Missouri is well suited to commercial beekeeping, owing to uncertainty of the honey flows. With the extension of the growth of sweet clover as a farm crop conditions are improving.
MISTLETOE **(Phoradendron flavescens).**
The mistletoe is too well known to need description. It occurs as a parasite on trees from southern New Jersey and Missouri south to Florida and Texas. It is a yellowish-green shrub, much branched, which grows on the branches of the trees to which it attaches itself. It flowers early, usually in February and March, and is frequently mentioned as a honey plant in the Southern States. School lists it as the first source of nectar and pollen in Texas, blooming there in January and February. Many Texas beckeepers regard it as valuable for spring stimulation.
MONARDA, see Horsemint.
MONATAA-Honey Sources of.
The principal sources of nectar in Montana are alfalfa and white sweet clover in Yellowstone, Sun River, Missouri, Gallatin and Flat-Head Valleys; yellow sweet clover in Bitterroot Valley, White clover in Bitterroot and Gallatin Valleys, and fireweed in northwestern timbered region. Minor plants are willov, dandelion, Grindelia (gum-weed), etc.--H, A. Scullen.
MONUMENT PLANT **(Frasera).**
The monument plant is variously known as columbo, deer's ears (a translation of the Navaho name, and Frasera. It grows in high altitudes from 7500 to 1000 feet, from South Dakota westward to Montana and Oregon and south to New Mexico and California.
It has large, creamy blossoms, about two inches in diameter, on tall flower stalks growing to a height of three feet. (Fig. 94.) It is common in the Rocky Mountains and is much sought by the bees. According to Wesley Foster it is an important source of honey in May. It is a striking plant which once seen is not likely to be forgotten.
MORING-GLORY **(Convolvulus).**
The morning-glory is a twining perennial vine of wide distribution throughout the United States. It has a large bell-shaped corolla and is often grown for ornament. Originally it was introduced from EuropeFigure 91: The amount of phase \(lpha F_{
m max}\) _a priori_ is a strong plant _a priori_, where each is a set of the phases \(lpha F_{
m max}\) and \(lpha F_{
m max}\).
as an ornamental and has escaped and become naturalized in waste places, old fields and along fences everywhere. It is probably not important to the beckeeper anywhere, but Richter lists it as a honey plant at Sacramento, California, and Scholl lists it as yielding some honey and pollen in Texas.
At Victoria, Texas, according to M. B. Talley, morning glory yields surplus honey of fine quality in September. There it is called tievinc.
**MOTHERWORT (Leonurus Cardiaca).**
The common motivterwort is a weed introduced from Europe and Northern Asia. It is now quite generally naturalized from Canada to Florida and west to Louisiana. For some reason, it is seldom included in lists of honey plants, although it is said to be an excellent source of nectar. Reports of bees working on this plant very freely, in 1914, when most other plants failed to yield anything, were frequent.
The motherwort grows in clumps in waste places in old barn lots, along railroads, in factory grounds, etc. It grows from two to six feet high, with small flower clusters in the axis of the leaves. It is a relative of the cathip, and apparently equally attractive to the bees. This plant
Figure 95: Clump of motherwort in baryard.
## 6.1. **MUSTARD (Brassica campestris).**
Figure 97 shows the common yellow mustard **(Brassica campestris)**, which is common all over North America and in Europe. The black mustard **(B, nigra)** also has a very wide distribution in Europe and America.
There are about 50 species, including the closely related cultivated varieties of cabbage, turnips, ruubagas and mustard. All produce some nectar, and in some localities they are an important source of honey. In parts of California, notably the Lompoc Valley, mustard is grown commercially for seed; much honey is stored from this source. The honey is said to be light in color and mild in flavor. Apparently there is much variation in the amount of nectar, according to climatic conditions. In
Figure 97. Mustard in bloom.
any locality where it is sufficiently abundant, mustard can be expected to add something to the product of the apiary.
The late J. S. Harbison wrote, in his "Bcekeepers" Directory.":
"Mustard affords a larger amount of valuable pasturage to the arc than almost any other plant. It blooms throughout the mouth of May, and part of June. During this time, bees increase in numbers, and store from it large quantities of honey of a clear yellowish color, but partaking slightly of the taste of the plant."
### Napa Thistle, see Star Thistle; also Centaurea.
#### Nebraska, Honey Sources of.
Most of Nebraska's surplus honey is secured from clover, though alfalfa is important in the western part of the State, especially under irrigation. White clover, alike and sweet clover are all important honey plants in Nebraska. Cottonwood furnishes an important source of pollen in spring. Willows and maples furnish both nectar and pollen, while fruit bloom and dandelions are usually sufficient to enable the bees!; build up for the clover flow. There is a great variety of minor sources which are not sufficiently abundant to yield much surplus. Among these may be mentioned, milkweeds, catalpa, Rocky Mountain bee plant, buffalo bure, vervain, Spanish needles, etc.
Heartscase yields abundant surplus some years and basswood was formerly important in some places in eastern Nebraska.
## 10.1. Nextar and nextar Secretion.
The great Swedish botanist, Linnaeus, nearly two hundred years ago, basing his classification of plants on their flowers, found it necessary to name and account for all of the parts of a flower. In many cases he found structures that were neither sepals, petals, stamens nor pistils, and as these contained, or were wet with, a sweet fluid, be gave this the fateful name "nectar"=the drink of the gods, and called the parts of the flower that produced or contained it, "nectaries."
As these nectaries were different from stamens and pistils, which Linnaeus recognized as the sexual organs of flowers, though they are sometimes connected with them, and as they were different from ordinary sepals and petals, though sometimes connected with them, they presented something of a question to the men of that day, who were curious to know what the parts of a plant really are and what they do. For this reason the study of nectaries became something of a popular diversion for a generation or two; and a general idea that they are organs for secreting sugar became established; not necessarily an idea of secretion,though, for just as animals excrete various organic substances that are by-products, or waste, from some of their functions, so it was thought by some students that the sugar or nectar might really be an excreted waste or surplus rather than a substance secreted because it is to become useful to the plant.
Toward the end of the eighteenth century a German rector, Sprengel, who seems to have found in nature a good deal of inspiration that he failed to "put over," noticed that the petals of the common German wild geranium were fringed with hairs at their bases. That was in the day before men believed in evolution, but when they did believe in a purposeful creation. Sprengel was convinced that an all-wise Creator would not have made a single hair in vain, and he set about discovering what these hairs were for, much as a sensible person, seeing the governor on an engine today would try to find out what it is for. Below the break between the petals, he found a nectar gland, producing its sugary fluid; and he saw the hairs would prevent the nectar from being diluted or washed away by rain or dew. This brought him back to the original question--what nectaries and nectar are for. He got his answer to this by watching the plant and seeing that bees visited the flowers and removed the nectar as what might be called the raw materials of the honey industry.
In Sprengel's day the general impression was not only that things have been created just as we find them, but created for our own ultimate good. So Sprengel found an answer in discovering that the hair fringe of the geranium petals protects the nectar of the flowers and so preserves it for bees to use in manufacturing honey for our breakfast table.
When you stop to think about it, Sprengel could hardly have had the curiosity to study out his geranium question to an answer without being spurred to look at other flowers to see if they might not have something interesting of the same sort to offer. He yielded to the impulse to look at other flowers, and he found his geranium to be a very drab specimen compared with some of the irregular and painted flowers that he studied out in the same way. He must have felt no common pride when, in 1793, he published the results of his studies, with simple but effective illustrations, under a title that meant revealing to mankind the newly discovered secret of nature in the structure and fertilization of flowers.
But Sprengel seems not to have been the sort of man to whom such an answer really was an answer, and he looked further. It does not seem to have taken him long to see that while gathering their own store of honey, and obviously without consciousness that they were doing anything else, the bees became dusted with pollen from geranium stames and rubbed it off on geranium stigmas while going their rounds of the flowers. This conclusion evidently answered two questions--what the hairs are for, and what nectar is for.
It is not necessary to walk down Michigan Boulevard on a windy day to realize that we belong to an imitative race. The corner grocery and the drug store show it as well as the windows of milliners and dress-makers, shoe shops and news stands, or as the sights that issue from a harbor shop in a college town.
Fashions run in fads and interests quite as much as in dress. Linnaeus was a great botanist; perhaps none has been greater. He not only reduced a chaotic science to order, but interested men in its study to a remarkable extent. It is rather unfairly charged against him that because his service was somewhat one-sided, those whose interest he awakened were extremely one-sided, in that they did not see or care for much in botany beyond finding, describing and classifying new plants. This was well enough worth doing; it is not finished yet, and will not be finished for many years to come; but it had become so fascinating and workable through the genus of the Swedish master that his followers scized on it with eagerness, and it was a long time before a mind of original habits and impulses broke loose from the train.
The man who possessed this originality was Darwin, the promuligator of the now universally accepted idea of organic evolution. To him has been ascribed the introduction of a new teleology into natural science, recognizing that structures and functions are because they are or have been of use--not of use to man necessarily, though man may turn them to account--but to their possessor.
This was Sprengel's conclusion as to the nectar of germanium flowers, which he found led to their fertilization. The essential difference between his way of seeing it and Darwin's is that he thought the entire mechanism has been specially made by the Creator as a means to an end, while
Figure 99: Ant zacion
Darwin saw in it the gradual modification of earlier structures because the new were helpful in the struggle of life and their possessors for this reason were likely to survive and pass them on to their offspring.