Pine Honey is an Actual Thing

I had always assumed that honey was made only from the nectar of flowers; however, I recently learned about pine honey while surfing the internet. Pine trees do not produce flowers in the botanical sense of the word, rather, they produce cones and cones do not produce nectar. So how could pine honey be an actual thing?

It turns out that in the eastern Mediterranean, mainly in Greece and Turkey, there occurs a scale insect of pine trees with the scientific name of Marchalina hellenica. The insect sucks pine tree sap and, because the sap contains more sugars than the insect can use, it excretes the excess sugars as honeydew. Forest honey bees collect the honeydew and convert it into pine honey.

Although the fact that it existed was a surprise, I was not at all surprised to learn that pine honey is not particularly sweet and has a distinctive, slightly bitter flavor with a strong aroma (Benefits of Honey 2013).

Pine honey is not simply an unusual novelty item. It is an economically important product accounting for almost 65% of annual honey production in Greece and about 50% in Turkey (Hatjina & Bouga 2009). As is done with other monofloral honeys, beekeepers will transport their hives to pine forests during peak honeydew production.

References:

Benefits of Honey. 2013. Exploring Honey Varieties. Internet: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-varieties.html. Visited 25 August 2013. Link

Hatjina, F. and M. Bouga. 2009. Portrait of Marchalina hellenica Gennadius (Hemiptera: Margarodidae), the main producing insect of pine honeydew—biology, genetic variability and honey production. U. Arı Drg. 9(4): 162–167. PDF

© 2013 Rufino Osorio

Aleurodicus rugioperculatus – Rugose Spiraling Whitefly

Aleurodicus rugioperculatus, the rugose spiraling whitefly, on the lower surface of a leaflet of a Biscayne prickly-ash, Zanthoxylum coriaceum, a Florida state-listed endangered species.

Last year, the rugose spiraling whiteflies were everywhere and on everything in my yard, including orchids and grasses. They did their worst damage on a 15-year-old small-flowered pawpaw, Asimina parviflora, a northern and central Florida shrub or small tree that I was told was impossible to grow in south Florida. However, the small-flowered pawpaw did not know it couldn't grow in south Florida and, in its 15th year, it was flowering profusely and setting dozens of fruits. It was a good-looking plant and was one of the focal points of my backyard but the whiteflies killed all top growth. And I don't mean they defoliated it. All of the smaller branches and all but the lowest portion of the main stems were killed. Luckily, it resprouted from near the base this year and the whiteflies have left it alone . . . so they could focus all of their energy on the poor Biscayne prickly-ash.

My small-flowered pawpaw, Asimina parviflora before the onslaught of rugose spiraling whiteflies.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio