JUNE 15, 1913 



THE BOSTON IVY AS A HONEY-PLANT 



BY A. S. KINNEY 



While talking' with a neighbor one day 

 mention was made of some honey which he 

 had purchased from a Mr. X in an adjoin- 

 ing town. " This honey," he said, " had 

 such a strong odor of the horse-stable thai 

 they could not eat it." Knowing the loca- 

 tion of Mr. X's apiaiy as 1 did, and the 

 careful kind of man he was, I knew at once 

 that the odor was not that from the horse- 

 stable, but probably from a certain kind of 

 nectar which the bees had collected. Hav- 

 ing never seen in the bee journals any men- 

 tion of the plant which I presumed was tiio 

 cause of the olfensive odor of Mr. X's hon- 

 ey, as he lives near where there is much of 

 it I have thought perhaps the I'eaders of 

 Gleanings would be interested in the fol- 

 lowing observations which I have made up- 

 on the Boston ivy {Ampelopsis veiichii) of 

 the tiorists. 



This vine was introduced into this coun- 

 try a number of years ago from Japan, and 

 at once gained great popularity because of 

 its hardiness and rapid growth. It is espe- 

 cially adapted to use upon stone and brick 

 buildings, and wherever one finds such 

 buildings in the Northern States they will 

 usually be more or less 

 covered with Ampe- 

 lopsis veiichii. 



Where an apiary is 

 located near a city or 

 village where there 

 are mills, often there 

 are acres of the plant 

 wiilun range of the 

 bees. This may be a 

 most desirable state of 

 affairs, as it is in this 

 especial section where 

 my apiary is located, 

 while in other sections, 

 where there is a mid- 

 summer flow of nectar, 

 it might prove a very 

 serious objection. 

 From my own observa- 

 tions, however, it ap- 

 pears to me that the 

 chances are more in 

 favor of the ampelop- 

 sis being a help than 

 a hindrance where it 

 forms a part of the 

 bee pasturage. Tn my 

 own case, now that I 

 know how to take care 

 of the nectar when it 

 comes in, I find tliat 

 the ampelopsis fills in 



a considerable lime when the bees v.ould 

 be idle, probably hanging on the front of 

 the hives, or, worse, trying to steal from 

 their neighbors. 



The ampelopsis usually, in this region, be- 

 gins to bloom between the loth and 20th of 

 duly, at which time the clover-flow is about 

 Dver, also locust and basswood. These plants 

 often continue in blossom four to six weeks, 

 those upon the north side of buildings com- 

 ing into blossom more than a week later 

 than those on the south side. The bees are 

 very fond of the nectar from these flowers, 

 simply going crazy over it. Although they 

 often collect more than they need for im- 

 mediate use, and store it as surplus, it is 

 very diificult for me to get any considerable 

 (|uantity pure, as it is more or less mixed 

 with other kinds of nectar, especially white 

 clover, my bees having access to several 

 acres of lawn upon which there is consider- 

 able Avliite clover all summer. The bees 

 work upon the white elovei- in the morning, 

 as there seems to be no flow of nectar from 

 the ampelopsis until about noon. After 

 this flow begins one will seldom see a bee 

 working on any thing else. This flow usu- 

 ally continues until nearly night, and dur- 

 ing this time one would think by the sound 

 that there was a swarm in the vines. In 



The fiiiuiliar Boston ivy, AniiieluiJ.sia Vfitcliii. 



