1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



r,4i 



NOTES ON CALIFORNIA HONEY-PLANTS. 



THEIR PECULIARITIES; AND THOSE WHICH 

 YIELD THE MOST HONEY. 



ByPritf. A.J. Ciiok. 



The California honey flora has two striking 

 peculiarities which are of exceeding impor- 

 tance: It is very extensive, and nearly all the 

 most important honey-plants, like white clover 

 in the East, are in bloom a long time. I have 

 kept close watch of the bees on the flowers this 

 snmmer, and have been glad and surprised at 

 the long pe'-iod of work. Many plants are in 

 bloom weeks and even months, and during all 

 this long period they are visited daily by the 

 bees. I believe this is why such phenomenal 

 yields are secured as were reported to me at 

 the last meeting of the State Association, and 

 through me to Gleanings, by such men as Wil- 

 kin, Corey, Mercer, etc. Two weeks is a long 

 flow for linden in the East, while white sage 

 — the linden of California — is in bloom for over 

 two months, and this range is still more broad- 

 ened by the difference in time of bloom in the 

 valleys and canyons. Most of the honey- 

 plants consist of innumerable blossoms which 

 occur in long racemes, or heads.. The flowers 

 commence to open below in racemes, and creep 

 alonff toward the top, which they do not reach 

 for many days in the famous white sage. In 

 the ball (or black) '^aees. the same is true. The 

 lower ball"' rp. n first, and each ball has a cen- 

 tripetal method of blooming, which still far- 

 ther prolongs the period of bloom. The citrus- 

 fruit bloom is similarly interesting. The 

 orange is in bloom for weeks, while the lemon 

 bloom is scattering its attractive odor for the 

 entire year. The periodic drouth which comes 

 once in two or three years, and the cool winds, 

 which have been very marked and common 

 this spring, combine once in about three years 

 to shut up the nectar- fountains, and destroy 

 the honey crop and the bee-keeper's profit. 



The following are the principal sources of 

 honey, so far as I have observed this season: 



White sage, Andihertia poljistachia. 



Ball (or black) sage. Axidibertia stachyoides. 



Ball (or black) sage, Audihci'tin Pnlmeri. 



Ball (or black) sage, Audihertia Clevelandi. 



Blue phacelia, Phacclia tnnacetifoUa. 



California clover, Hoxnchla glabra. 



Small blue phacelia, Phacelia circinntax. 



Wild buckwheat, ErUiormm fasciciilatum. 



This last and the sages are the important 

 honey-plants. They yield enormously, remain 

 in bloom a very long time, and the honey from 

 them is unsurpassed in appearance and flavor. 



Of course, the fruit-bloom is veiy important. 

 Much of it comes so early that the bees are not 

 yet strong enough to secure much surplus from 

 this source, though fruit honey is not infre- 

 quent in the California markets, and is far 

 more important aside from mere stimulation 

 than is the same in the East. 



The above report of flowers is not full, but 

 contains the most important. I ought to have 

 included a small strawberry, or blackberry- 

 like flower, HorkcUa Califomlca, which is con- 

 stantly visited by bees. 



HONEY-DEW A SECRETION FROM APHIDES; A 

 REPLY BY PROF. COOK. 



I was surprised to see the note in Gleanings 

 for May 15th, from Germany, to the effect that 

 bees never gather nectarfrom aphides, or plant- 

 lice. I have known bees to collect the nectar 

 extensively from aphides, especially the larch 

 plant-louse and the elm-gall plant-louse. In 

 several cases, when bees would be swarming on 

 the trees, collecting this nectar, I have been 

 able to collect enough in advance of the bees to 

 test its quality. As I have stated in the bee- 

 papers and in my Manual. I found the nectar, 

 and also the honey from it, to be exceedingly 

 pleasant. I have received twigs of pine from 

 Oregon and Washington, covered with sugar, 

 and on the twigs I found many dead plant-lice. 

 I have little or no doubt that the crystals were 

 from evaporated honey dew. It would seem 

 that the assertion from Germany must be an 

 error, as we are coming to find more and more 

 that animals and plants behave much the same 

 in all countries, ospecially in the same latitude; 

 and it is positively true that bees gather aphis 

 honey-dew in America, and often store much 

 honey from this source; and, more, that the 

 honey is often light-colored and of pleasant 

 flavor. 



The other statement, regarding honey-dew 

 from bark-lice, or coccids. is also wide of the 

 mark — at least in America. The honey-dew is 

 not simply sap. as the taste will quickly show; 

 nor will pricks or wounds at this season induce 

 a flow of sap. I have no doubt that the nectar 

 comes from the lice. This nectar is always, so 

 far as I have seen, dark in color and rank in 

 quality, and r'^ver fit for table use. ' 



THE NEW bee-disease. 



The new bee-disease is becoming very serious 

 in this rf^uion. Mr. R. B. HeiTon, bee-inspect- 

 or for the county of San Bernardino, called on 

 me the other day and reported that at least 'lOOO 

 colonies of bees had been destroyed by this mal- 

 ady between Claremont and Grapeland — twen- 

 ty miles east. He said he found none east of 

 Grapeland. 



I have heard of it in at least four counties. I 

 have examined several colonies, and find in eve- 

 ry case that not only are the mature bees dy- 

 ing, but the brood also. The dead brood is 

 scattered, and does not seem at all like foul 

 brood. The dead bees are always in shape, and 

 never in the brown, sticky, ropy mass that we 

 find in foul-brood cells. I am not sure that the 

 dying-brood and mature-bee mortality necessa- 

 rily go together, but I have found them so in 

 all cases that I have examined. I think Mr. 

 Herron, who, by the way, is a real scientist, and 

 one whose opinion would be valuable and au- 



