A BRIEF SUBVEY OF HAWAIIAN BEE KEEPING. 



leafhoppers. The fact thai the Leafhopper is not doing damage 



enough to hinder cane raising does not signify that it has disap- 

 peared, nor is there any biologic reason for believing that it will, while 



cane is grown, unless some entirely new methods of fighting it are 

 found. The fact that 400 tons ° of honeydew are produced annually 

 from this source in spite of the fact that only a limited amount of the 

 cane area is accessible to bees is a certain indication of the untold 

 millions of these insects which still exist. 



The leafhoppers exude a sweet, gummy substance on the leaves of 

 the cane and the honey bees work on this eagerly. However, where 

 bees have access to both honeydew and floral nectar, they prefer the 

 nectar to a marked degree. When algarroba begins to bloom the 

 honey stored becomes noticeably whiter. 



In view of the fact that honeydew honey has the taste and color of 

 common molasses, it has been suggested that probably this product is 

 gathered by the bees from the sugar mills which are so numerous on 

 the islands. The writer visited several such mills located near apia- 

 ries on days when bees were actively flying. No bees were to be seen 

 anywhere around the mill. If bees actually did come to the mill 

 after sweets, they would become a serious nuisance to the workmen. 

 Why they do not is something of a mystery to the writer, but he can 

 vouch for the fact that he saw no mills screened to keep bees out. nor 

 did he see any bees at work in the mill or even on the pile of sweet 

 refuse (" mud cake ") outside. 



Molasses is used quite extensively for feeding cattle on the islands. 

 It is poured out in troughs or half barrels where the cattle can get it 

 easily, and frequently these are located near apiaries. Many of these 

 were examined as the writer went about among the apiaries, and in 

 not a single instance did he ever see a bee at work on the molasses. 

 In some cases these feeding troughs are as near as a quarter of a mile 

 to apiaries. A dairyman near Waimea, Kauai, whose trough (PI. IX. 

 fig. 2) is located not a quarter of a mile from a large apiary, informed 

 the writer that he had never seen bees working on the molasses. Ob- 

 viously, Hawaiian honeydew honey does not come from this source. 



Extra-floral plant honeydew, — The situation in Hawaii as regards 

 sources of honey is made still more complicated and interesting by the 

 fact that the hau tree (Paritiwn tiliaceum) has nectaries on its leaves 

 which secrete a honeydew. These are located on the vein- of the 

 leaves near the stem and are one, three, or five in number. Small 

 drops of honeydew may frequently be seen on these spots. It is in- 

 teresting to note that these extra-floral nectaries arc present on the 

 outside of the calyx of the flower-. There is apparently no true floral 

 nectary. 



a Five humlivd tons in 1908. 



