2.27 Origins and Composition of Honeydew Honey

Question 1

What does honeydew honey TASTE like?

Answer 1

Bitter, treacly, malty, toffee

Question 2

About Honeydew honey

Answer 2

Attracts bees when no other forage available.
Randomly spread on leaves with no guiding stimuli
German farmers move stocks up mountains to work pine trees
Lime, sycamore, oak, beech, elm, ash, chestnut, hawthorn, conifer
pH content varies between species and time of year but more acidic than floral honey (pH5.1-7.9 compared to floral honey pH2.7-6.4
Colour and taste varies
Colour light brown-reddish, greenish brown to dark brown
Electrical conductivity = greater then 0.8mS/cm
Not appreciated in USA
Collect in the morning when still moist from dew - if late sticky and gummy
Bees do not winter well on honeydew honey (presence of mineral salts)
Nitrogen content high in spring and low in Autumn when leaves change colour

Question 3

Constituents of Honeydew Honey v Floral Honey

Answer 3

Water 16/17% (floral 18%)
Fructose 31.8% (floral 40%)
Glucose 26% (floral 35%)
Other sugars 14% (floral 4%)
Undetermined 10% (floral 0%)
Ash 0.736 (floral 0.17%-0.26%)
Nitrogen 0.13% (floral 0%)
Other - (floral 3%)
22 amino acids 
More acidic than floral honey (pH5.1-7.9 compared to floral honey pH2.7-6.4
Viscosity higher than floral honey (forms hair like threads when glass rod dipped and lifted from the surface)

Question 4

Definition of Honeydew Honey

Answer 4

The exudate of insects and the secretions of extra floral nectaries of a plant
“Honey, the colour of which is light brown, greenish brown, black or any intermediate colour, produced wholly or mainly from the secretions of or found on living parts of plants other than blossoms (definition taken from The Honey Regulations (1976))

Question 5

Characteristics of Honeydew Honey (WAFTAGE DVP)

Answer 5

Wintering bees don’t do so well
Acidic - 22 amino acids
Fungal spores, mould spores, ash, algae
Threat long and thin when glass rod dipped and lifted
Aroma, flavour not as sweet
Granulation- glucose, fructose, melezitose = never
Enzymes (from insect saliva and more added in bee gut)
Viscosity
Pollen - lack of ???

Question 6

Honeydew – what is it and how it is produced

Answer 6

Hemiptera - known as aphids (50,000 species; 1650 in UK)
Feed on phloem of plants (tubes = phloem, the liquid = sap)
When the aphid pierces the phloem with its mouthparts, a duct within the mouthparts allows saliva to enter the wound thus starting the digestion process. A second duct transports the liquid into the aphid
The sap moves through the plant under pressure so that when the insect pushes into the phloem the sap is pushed into the insect. Once plugged into it, the insect stays put and from time to time a droplet appears at its anus. This is honeydew

Question 7

Honeydew honey v Blossom honey

Answer 7

Colour: darker brown/black
Odour: distinctive
Taste: distinctive, strong
Viscosity: higher than blossom
Acidity: higher than blossom (citric acid)
Granulation: usually quicker
Electrical conductivity: Same
Ash: higher mineral content
Stringing: possible (blossom no)
Foraging: more difficult (spread out and no guides)
Overwinter: Not good (too much mineral content)
Toxicity: can be bad for bees
Consumer: Germans like it American’s don’t