# Anyone know anything about Tanoak Honey? (Lithocarpus densiflorus)



## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Do a search on honeydew. The bees collect and dry down the fluid excreted by aphids that feed on oak and maple leaves. I think it must be an acquired taste! Closer to Buckley's Cough Syrup than anything I would call honey though.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

crofter said:


> Do a search on honeydew. The bees collect and dry down the fluid excreted by aphids that feed on oak and maple leaves. I think it must be an acquired taste! Closer to Buckley's Cough Syrup than anything I would call honey though.


I used to think it was honey dew but now know it is nectar from flowers. Different branches on the trees bloom over a staggered period. Seem to be male and female flowers on the same branch. I watched the dates this year to learn when to pull the earlier crop. Easy to smell as the bees collect it. Some years a good crop, foggy weather can screw it up. Europeans like it. Hard to find branches low enough to photograph. My crop comes from the redwood groves in Woodside, CA.


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Wow! We sure dont get anything like that on the oaks we have native in my part of the land!


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## Justi (Apr 9, 2021)

crofter said:


> Wow! We sure dont get anything like that on the oaks we have native in my part of the land!


Only a few oaks bloom and tan oak is allmost a chestnut


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## CliffS (May 12, 2021)

I would love to get my bees to make this, despite being in proximity to many Tanoaks, they have yet to make any. Its also important to note that Tanoaks were decimated by Sudden Oak death, but are making a fantastic comeback, as the surviving tanoaks are now resistant to the pathogen that caused it


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I got a 34 lb average of tan bark off four hives this year, extracted and cut comb. I pulled the spring crop off in June to keep the tan bark separate. Best year at that site ever. Switching to BeeMax hives might have helped.


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