BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
"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 password 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'small' 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 237, 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.
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 bound of honey in the hives at the end of August--Daniel M. Worthington, Elkridge. Md., American Bee Journal, page 125, 1809,
"Blue aster (Aster azureus), known among farmers as blue devil, or sticked, 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 809, American Bee Journal, 1906.
Figure 13: Arrow-leaved aster (_Aster azureus), folus_).
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 sallelifolius** is probably one of the best in Iowa and Illinois, being common on low ground.
In a private letter, F. W. I. 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 Gatinean 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 Montceri, 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 Farns report 1914-15, page 996). Other valuable species of aster in Canada for honey production are **A. lateri-Morus** (Maritime provinces to Ontario); **Aster umbellatus** (Maritime provinces to Eastern Manitoba), and **Aster puniceus,** Fig. 11 (Maritime provinces to Ontario)." --Ottawa, October 2, 197. **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**
**F.g. 14. Swamp aster (_Aster acaminetus),**
**F.g. 15. Swamp aster (_Aster acaminetus),**
**Florida. It grows in dry, open fields, along roads, 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 macrophylus,** 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 lie abundance in that State.
Several other species are known to produce nectar freely, **A. multi-Horus, 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 609, 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 (Rhododendon).**
The azalca are closely related to the mountain laurel and are likewise sometimes reported as poisonous. (See Laurel; also Poisonous Honey). The flame-colored azalca 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.
## Appendix B Balloon VINE (Cardiospermum hallicacabum).
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 yielded, 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 bekeeper. We are showing herewith two illustrations, one of the plant in fruit and one showing the opening of the bloom.
The following description of the possibilities of this plant is reprinted from page 83 of the American Bec 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 spring. 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 texapoon, 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 teasponfils to the pit (88 of the one used filled a pit measure) we have 20 spoonfils, or half a pit to the stalk. Planted in checks 8x8 feet, there will be 680 plants to the arc, yielding, according to the above estimate, 42\({}_{\circ}\) 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
Figure 15: Blossoms of the banana.
Figure 10a. The barans.
Figure 10b. The barans.
Figure 10c. The barans.
Figure 10d. The barans.
## 6.2. **BARBERRY (Berberis).**
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 roads, 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."--Lonis Schell, Gleanings, Feb., 1907.
Richter reports the California barberry **(Berberis pinnata)** yields surplus in Monterey County after manainta has bloomed. The honey is amber in color. The plant is rather common from Berkely Hills south to Monterey. Stcoming in March and April, according to Jepson, (See also Oregon grape).
Figure 17. Triple-leaved barberry, er agarits.
**BARNABY'S THISTLE, see Star Thistle.**
**BASIL or MOUNTAIN MINT (Pycannenthemum virginlaanum).**
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).**
The basswood, also known as linden, whitewood, and sometimes as limctree, 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
Figure 18: Basswood tree in bloom.
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.
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 each 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 haswood 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.
Figure 19: Blossom and leaf of the basswood.
**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 lina beans raised in the entire United States; 800,000 sacks is the reported output for 1910. The honey from lina beans is almost water white in color and of fine flavor, according to M. H. Mendeson, 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 lina 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 Mendeson, seldom happens with strong colonies, nor does it happen in any case in the interior. Honey from beans granulates very readily.
The honeycomb 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 bekeeper is as a source of pollen, though honeydew is sometimes secured from the leaves.
**DEEWED, see Rocky Mountain Bee Plant,**
DECCAL: T.C.C.C.C.C.S.
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.
BIRCH (Betula).There are several species of hitch 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).Waswork, or Climbing Bitterswet.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, Keckuk, 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,
Figure 30: The Black induced is a common werd.
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.
On a visit to Tennessee the author was very much interested in this plant, which grows freely along roads, in bargards and similar places, such as dogfounel or unayweed 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
Figure 21: Honey from bitterweed is anti for table use.
to the mouth of the Ohio River, literally covering in many places the waste and uncaltivated 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 ocotula),** 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 bitter-weed, 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."
Pannnel 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 snezeeweed **(Helenium automnale)** is also a good honey plant, and probably less bitter than the southern or narrow-leaved snezeeweed 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 snezeeweed 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 broad-rearing and, where present, the beekeeper should use care to avoid mixing it with his marketable produce, and use it for feeding the hees. 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.
**Blackkberry (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 hees 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 Cuba 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).
BLACK BINDWEED, see Bindweed.BLACK GUM, see Tupelo.BLACK HAW (Viburnum prunifolium).The black have belongs to a group containing several valuable honey plants. It occurs from Connecticut to Michigan and south to Georgia, Albama, 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
Figure 32: Magnevve bloeen.
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.
**BLACK LOCUST, see Locust.**
**BLACK MEDIC (Medicago lupulina).**
Black needle is a widely distributed plant in California, but not very common. It blows 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
Figure 23: The black mangrove tree.
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.