132 



AMERICAN HONEY PLANTS 



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 In- 

 dians at the time of the discovery of the continent. It has become one of 

 the most important grain crops and is grow^n in large acreage. It furnishes 

 an abundance of pollen in mid-summer and the bees w^ork upon the tassels 

 so freely as to give rise to a very general impression that it furnishes 



Fig. 80. Indi, 



:rrant in bloom. 



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.) 



