# I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?



## smilinpossum (Oct 27, 2011)

Does anyone know how to identify it as such?.
I have one hive that was already honey bound that I took 6 frames of (what I hope is actual honey) from the top 2 boxes. The Hive is stacked 5 high.

The honey is the darkest I have ever harvested, looks nearly like coffee. It's more on the high viscosity side but not out of range for what real honey should be. It has a sweet but also strong taste of roasted even kind of a slightly taste of burnt caramel maybe even a little licorice. It fits the description of what I have read about Buckwheat honey, only from what I understand Buckwheat doesn't grow around here in my region.
(middle TN...and have never seen any here)

From what I have read honey dew honey actually is (excretion from the Aphid insects) I hope that is not what this is.
Here is one of the things I read:
"Honey Dew
Speaking of dark honey reminds me that a word should be said about "honey dew".

Frequently we find in the hives a dark strong substance that appears to be honey but that obviously is not. The bees gather it and store it exactly as they would the product from the flowers but they get it from aphids who exude this substance.

Honey dew is nothing more or less than an excretion from the "honey tubes" of the aphids that feed on many plants. Some seasons the bees will gather tremendous quantities of this stuff and load up their storage space pretty liberally. It serves them well for brood rearings in the spring, but when it is gathered late in summer and used as winter food it often causes serious damage."
http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/honey-plants.html#.V0Mc7FLry1t


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## EvilZeg (Oct 22, 2013)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Are you by a river? Could be Japanese knotweed.


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## smilinpossum (Oct 27, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

There is a river abbuting the property (down a ravine)..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_(Cumberland_River)

But I've never really gone down there and observed the plants...there may be knotweed down there.


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

I thought that knotweed flowered in the fall. It's very likely to be honey dew.


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## smilinpossum (Oct 27, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

I didn't take honey from this particular hive last fall...so..it *could* be knotweed.
Although I would have thought they would have consumed any honey in there over the winter (my reason for leaving it).
I had plenty already, and didn't need to harvest any more at that time.


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## smilinpossum (Oct 27, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

If it *is* "honey" from honey dew....is it safe for people to consume?

I couldn't find a firm yes or no on that.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



smilinpossum said:


> If it *is* "honey" from honey dew....is it safe for people to consume?
> 
> I couldn't find a firm yes or no on that.


Whether its Knotweed, or honeydew it qualifies as honey and yes, its safe to eat.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

I don't think I've ever had any that dark but I love dark honey. I much prefer it to clover honey. I think Kudzu makes pretty dark honey but it's too early for that.

Some of you are splitting hairs..... aphid poop is bad, but bee vomit is good?


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Honey dew honey is consumed in Europe by a lot of people from what I've read. Sort of like a varietal honey like sour wood or golden rod. You don't get very much and a lot of people like it.


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## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

It could be honeydew, your description does fit with honeydew. What you need to tell us is what trees you have in the foraging area. The following trees have Aphids that may produce honeydew. Maple, Birch, Beech, Oak, Cherry, Lime and Willow.
These next five trees are considered to be the ones that will produce in large enough quantities that enable one to harvest a specific sort of honey. Oak, Maple, Lime, Fir and Spruce. The last two are highly prized in Germany and the honey costs $16 per kg. Conditions that lead to a honeydew harvest happen about once in three to five years, I forget which, but Beech or Birch will only produce honey about every fifty years. This list of trees is for Germany, there could be others in your area that produce honeydew.


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## EvilZeg (Oct 22, 2013)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



Riskybizz said:


> I thought that knotweed flowered in the fall. It's very likely to be honey dew.


Your right.  I wasn't even thinking about the time of year. Here are some pictures of knotweed honey I harvested last year.


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## LampBurner (May 4, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

If splitting hairs as it may be, I find the thought of aphid poop rather un appealing, un desirable as safe as it may be.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

but you'll eat bee vomit and not a though


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

I read about honeydew honey my first year and figured my bees would be able store as much as they wanted to but as far as I know they've never put up an ounce of it.

We have a lot of large pecan trees, and if you pull a vehicle under one for more than a few seconds it will be covered with honeydew.


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## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Producing a honeydew crop is much more challenging than a floral honey. As you have seen Brad bee, just because you see the tell tail signs of honeydew it doesn't necessarily mean the bees will find it attractive. It comes down to which Aphid is present and in what density. Density is dependent on weather conditions for the whole year.
Beekeepers here monitor Aphid density and type in order to predict where and when a honeydew flow may occur. I still find it amusing to see a beekeeper set out a white cloth, start banging branches with a stick to knock the aphids off. Then identify and count aphids, oh what excitement!!!

I am sure all of us have eaten honeydew, unaware that the bees collected it and then when harvesting the beekeeper inadvertently mixed it with floral honey.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



LampBurner said:


> If splitting hairs as it may be, I find the thought of aphid poop rather un appealing, un desirable as safe as it may be.


better than watching them get a drink off a fresh cow pattie


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## LampBurner (May 4, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



sakhoney said:


> but you'll eat bee vomit and not a though


It's just a matter of preference is all. None of us give any more thought to eating bee vomit than I do. I apparently must give more thought to eating poop though.
I agree Stephenbird that at least some is getting mixed with floral honey and I did already figured so along with many other things. That, I don't give much thought to and willing to take in stride.
I agree honey dew is better than watching them get a drink of fresh cow patties too I suppose of which I they might sometimes do LOL.


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



> I suppose of which I they might sometimes do LOL


Sometimes is likely an understatement, they do prefer the water with character.

I have one hive in particular that produces pockets of coffee colored nectar/honey, I hadn't thought about honey dew but with all the oak, maple and a few pecan trees around my location it adds another probability. Is one type of oak or maple a greater producer than another?


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



sakhoney said:


> but you'll eat bee vomit and not a though


Read up on bee anatomy, the honey stomach is separate from the regular stomach. Honey is not "bee vomit."


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## Stephenpbird (May 22, 2011)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*



GaryG74 said:


> Read up on bee anatomy, the honey stomach is separate from the regular stomach. Honey is not "bee vomit."


Thanks for the invitation to read up on bee anatomy. So The first book I picked up was Biology of the Honey Bee By Mark Winston. He states that the Mid gut is connected to the crop/honey stomach and in fact he states "the contents of the crop can be regurgitated when the surrounding muscles contract back and the abdominal segments telescope."

Dictionary.com lists the following for regurgitate
verb (used without object), regurgitated, regurgitating. 1. to surge or rush back, as liquids, gases, undigested food, etc. 

verb (used with object), regurgitated, regurgitating. 2. to cause to surge or rush back; vomit. 



So to me the first book I picked confirms honey is bee vomit.

Can you point me to the book I should read which contradicts Winston, or have I missed something?


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

I doubt that you've missed anything. Yes, according to the definition #2, honey is bee vomit.


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## rolftonbees (Jul 10, 2014)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Some of the finest honey in the world is honey dew honey. The aphid leavings are not dark. They are a light green, to clearish with a syrup texture. The bees collect it, and process it like they do nectar and it becomes honey. 

In Germany there is a Dew honey thst comes from certain sections of the black forest. It's as important to those weeks as the sourwood is where I live. They move their hives to it.

It seems that old nasty dark brood combs can contribute to dark strong honey as well. Various tree nectars and buckwheat as well.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Just as all nectars aren't alike neither are all honeydews. My experience with oak honeydew is that it is quite dark, easily into the amber range.


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## DerTiefster (Oct 27, 2016)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

When we lived near San Francisco 30 yrs ago, we stopped at a roadside stand near Sacramento and tasted some very dark buckwheat honey. Then we bought three half-gallon jars of it. It's really good stuff. I still purchase some from Dutch Gold, delivered to my home. Last purchase was two 5-lb containers, net cost $5/lb through shipping. After I get my own harvest, I'll probably not get much honey from other sources except for taste comparisons. I did purchase some buckwheat seed last fall, though....

You could spend a $10 bill and get some good buckwheat honey delivered to you if your local stores don't stock it. It's readily available for direct purchase on the auction site. Shipping a small bottle raises the $/lb, but if you're interested in knowing the answer, you'll find it worthwhile.


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## Allen Lowe (Mar 10, 2017)

*Re: I just harvested some really dark honey, could it actually be "honey dew"?*

Aphid poop bee vomit that is good thanks for the laugh


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