1 THE WORLD VIEW OF BEES AND BEEKEEPING Volume 5 Number 3, September 2008 BUZZ EXTRA ISSN 1757 - 5400 HONEYDEW Honey by another name? Richard Jones Summary Scientifically and philosophically precise definitions of honeydew are elusive and references can vary widely. Manna, honeydew and nectar are words used throughout the Ancient World to describe a sweet desirable liquid or crystalline substance sometimes referred to as “food of the gods”. For thousands of years it was thought that honeydew was a product that fell from heaven. This article looks at the derivation of the word in a number of languages thereby giving insights into the practical, philosophical and cultural background of a product that has always been surrounded by mystique. It is a substance that figures in most of the world’s major religions; as well as in folklore and legend from the Nordic lands through India to China. My starting point in the search for a definition of honeydew was to turn to E. Cobham Brewer (1810 – 1897) and his famous Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It said: A sweet substance found on lime-trees and some other plants. Bees and ants are fond of it. It is a curious misnomer, as it is the excretion of the aphis or vine-fretter. The way it is excreted is this: the ant beats with its antennæ the abdomen of the aphis, which lifts up the part beaten, and excretes a limpid drop of sweet juice called honeydew. (Brewer 1894) However, he uses the expression “curious misnomer” which rang warning bells and prompted further lexicographical research for “a misnomer” is the wrong use of a term or word. In other words “Honeydew” is neither “Honey” nor “Dew” (Brewer 1998). Photograph: Franc Sivic, Slovenia Bee taking honeydew off lime (Tilia Cardata) Photograph: Franc Sivic. Crystallized honeydew or manna on the Wig tree (Cotinus coggigria) which grows in Slovenian limestone regions
Transcript
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THE WORLD VIEW OF BEES AND BEEKEEPING
Volume 5 Number 3, September 2008
BUZZ EXTRA ISSN 1757 - 5400
HONEYDEW Honey by another name?
Richard Jones
Summary Scientifically and philosophically precise definitions of honeydew are elusive and references can vary widely. Manna, honeydew and nectar are words used throughout the Ancient World to describe a sweet desirable liquid or crystalline substance sometimes referred to as “food of the gods”. For thousands of years it was thought that honeydew was a product that fell from heaven. This article looks at the derivation of the word in a number of languages thereby giving insights into the practical, philosophical and cultural background of a product that has always been surrounded by mystique. It is a substance that figures in most of the world’s major religions; as well as in folklore and legend from the Nordic lands through India to China. My starting point in the search for a definition of honeydew was to turn to E. Cobham Brewer (1810 – 1897) and his famous Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It said:
A sweet substance found on lime-trees and some other plants. Bees and ants are fond of it.
It is a curious misnomer, as it is the excretion of the aphis or vine-fretter. The way it is excreted is this: the ant beats with its antennæ the abdomen of the aphis, which lifts up the part beaten,
and excretes a limpid drop of sweet juice called honeydew. (Brewer 1894) However, he uses the expression “curious misnomer” which rang warning bells and prompted further lexicographical research for “a misnomer” is the wrong use of a term or word. In other words “Honeydew” is neither “Honey” nor “Dew” (Brewer 1998).
Photograph: Franc Sivic, Slovenia Bee taking honeydew off lime (Tilia Cardata)
Photograph: Franc Sivic. Crystallized honeydew or manna on the Wig tree
(Cotinus coggigria) which grows in Slovenian limestone regions
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Hoping for a clear answer I turned to the font of all wisdom on the history of beekeeping, Dr Eva Crane, only to encounter another ringing of alarm bells. Clearly the way ahead was not straight forward but full of pitfalls.
The word honey is older than the word bee The reason for this is that honey was the object of value the bees just got in the way.
Therefore it is probable that the word honeydew is also older than the word bee Honey and therefore it derivatives may have various meanings not just:
Honey from bees Honey dew gathered by bees
Crystallized honeydew – manna (Crane 1980/1999)
It soon becomes clear when reading through early literature that the words “Honeydew” and “Nectar” are virtually interchangeable to describe just about any sweet desirable liquid. This could include such products as syrup made from dates or some other sweet fruits. An interesting illustration of this comes from the Chinese who referred to “bees’ honey” and “wood honey”. The later term described any sweet juices from dates, sugarcane etc and not necessarily a product collected by bees. Today wood honey or forest honey is synonymous with honeydew in most parts of the world and is most definitely a product collected by bees. All this shows that precise definitions are very difficult to find and vary widely through history and with different cultures. The only thing that seems constant, but it applies to honey and honeydew with no clear differentiation, is that it was regarded as a substance made in heaven and as such is “food for the gods” or “food of the gods”
There is a little more precision about the word “manna” although the way the word came about was hardly based on any scientific process. It is a corruption of the Hebrew “Man-hu” meaning “What is this?” The story of the Israelites lost in the wilderness and near the point of starvation is told in the book of Exodus. They awoke one morning to find small white grain-like objects rather like heavy frost lying on the ground.
When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, What is this? for they knew not what it was. (Exodus Ch.26 v.13) And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna. It was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like
wafers made with honey. (Exodus Ch.26 v. 31) The Talmud, the authoritative text of Jewish law and ethics, refers to manna as being six times sweeter than honey although it is not clear how this is measured other than by sensory perception. The Ancient Greeks claimed that manna was nine times sweeter than honey but use the term ambrosia. Ambrosia figures prominently in Greek mythology. No more so in the legend surrounding Zeus, the father of the gods, who was brought up on milk and honey. He allegedly had the ability to rain honeydew on the earth beneath which in turn had powers to raise the dead. The Greek historian Plutrach called honey “the saliva of the stars” (saliva siderum). All of which only serves to underline the common belief that all honey came down from the skies. Virgil’s Georgics and Aeneis, written around 29 BC, does not recognise nectar or honeydew as a plant or insect secretion but rather as a substance that came down to earth as a gift from the gods above. It opens as follows:
The gifts of heaven my following song pursues Aerial Honey and Ambrosial Dews.
He later refers to “Manna” which he calls “the heavenly gift of honey”. (Virgil/Dryden 1697)
Photograph: Franc Sivic Cinara Pectinatae, a honeydew producing insect on Abies alba
Photograph: Scott Bauer/USDA-ARS Yellowish coffee green scales
producing honeydew which provides a source of food for bees and a black sooty mould seen
on these gardenia leaves
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This mystical appearance of honeydew, usually overnight and from a heavenly source, is found in other cultures. In Hindu mythology the moon had the epithet, “Madhukara”,- the honey-giver (madhu = honey). Followers believed that the heaven-born honey which fell on the leaves and grass sweetened even the milk of cows and goats. Other cultures and mythologies take up the theme of the moon as the controlling influence in the supply of honeydew. This connection with the moon is to be found even in the very isolated culture of the Bushmen of the lonely and desolate area of the Kalahari Desert where honey is referred to as “the moon’s water”. This would indicate that the term came about as a result of tribal philosophy and thought rather that any transfer from another culture. It was an ancient Germanic belief that the moon was supposed to be a huge cup, filled with honey and mead; and the stars were swarms of bees whose honey fell to the earth upon the oak and sweet ash. The honeydew that settled over the mighty sacred ash, Ygdrasil (representing the tree of the Universe), nourished the bees. The word ash (in Latin melia, mel = honey) is derived from the Norse aska, meaning, man.
This is one of the earliest references to the fact that the plants themselves produce nectar rather than it occurring as some heavenly anointment that takes place mystically overnight. Vaillant is supposed to have used the word mielliers for organs on flowers producing nectar when giving a lecture in 1717 but there is no written record of this. In 1879 Bonnier put forward his thesis on nectaries. Therefore, we have only known for certain the exact source of nectar, and therefore honey, for about 150 years. What about honeydew? In 1739 René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683 – 1757) first noted the occurrence of aphids and honeydew together, and realised that the honeydew was excreted by aphids. In 1763 Pierre-Augustin Boissier de La Croix de Sauvages, (1710 – 1795) described the nature and production of honeydew. Similar observations were being made and recorded in Dutch and German literature: In 1696 Van Leewenheok mentioned that insects could produce honeydew whereas in 1829 Ehrenfels surmised that honeydew was sweated out by plants; Stern in 1841, Stoehr in 1842, Noerdlinger in 1854 and Buechen in 1891 asserted that honeydew resulted exclusively from insects. (Pechhacker 2008) Scientists have continued to investigate these substances with increasing diligence and ever more sophisticated methods and equipment. In addition to classifications based on the highly developed sensory perceptions of skilled tasters, analytical methods using latest gas chromatography techniques, electrolytic analysis and other chemical and physical tests give added precision to our classification. But all this science is let down badly by the vagueness of the word honeydew. If our literature and oral communication is to reflect the precision that the scientists are offering then we need at least three separate words for: Plant secretions Aphid excretions The bee produced product in the comb or jar. The problem is not peculiar to the English language: the lack of precision is reflected across most languages. Over the years IBRA has produced a series of dictionaries, covering over 25 languages in various combinations, which give 1,036 essential bee related words. Each word is numbered and that number remains constant throughout the series. In this way number 447 is the word for honeydew on the leaf and 336 is the word for honeydew honey as found in the comb or in the jar.
The greatest early British bee book, The feminine monarchie or a treatise concerning bees, was published by the Reverend Charles Butler (1571 – 1647). Bearing in mind his understanding of beekeeping, his acute powers of observation and his vocation it is interesting that he wrote: “The greatest plenty of purest nectar cometh from above; which Almighty God doth miraculously distil out of the air,… and condensated by the nightly cold
into this most sweet and sovereign nectar, which thence doth descend into the earth in a dew or small drizzling rain.”
(Butler 1609) The first book in the English language about honey: The virtues of honey in preventing many of the worst disorders; and in the certain cure of several others. the gravel, asthmas. consumptions, etc. was written by John Hill and published in London in 1759. It is here that we begin to see a separation and possible recognition of honey and honey dew as coming from different and more tangible sources. He wrote:
“It (nectar) is produced within the flowers, where it is found” (Hill 1759)
Illustration first used in 1623 (second) edition of the Rev.
Charles Butler’s famous book
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If any readers can add to this table or indeed shed more light on the use of the word “honeydew” in different countries and languages I would be very pleased to hear from them.
References Brewer, E C (1894) Dictionary of phrase and fable, 4th Edition, Cassel, Petter and Galpin, London Brewer, E C (1998) Dictionary of phrase and fable, 15th Edition, Cassel, London. Butler, C (1609) The feminine monarchie, or a treatise concerning bees, Joseph Barnes, Oxford Crane, E (1980) A book of honey, Oxford University Press, Oxford Crane, E (1951 – 2003) Dictionary of beekeeping terms (Vols 1 to 12) IBRA, Cardiff. Crane, E (1999) The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting, Duckworth, London. Hill, J (1759) The virtues of honey, S Davies, London Pechhacker, H (2008) Honeydew around the world, paper at the First Honeydew Symposium, Tzarevo, Bulgaria. Virgil/ Dryden (1697) The works of Virgil translated into English verse by John Dryden, for Jacob Tonson, London
LANGUAGE HONEYDEW ON LEAVES (447 in IBRA dictionaries)
HONEYDEW HONEY (436 in IBRA dictionaries)
Albanian Mënjë Mjaltë mënjë
Arabic Nuduwah al-asal Asal nuduwah asaliyah
Chinese Ganlu Ganlumi
Croatian Medna rosa (Medljika) Medljikovac
Czech Medovice Medovicový med
Danish Honningdug Skovhonning, bladhonning
Dutch Honingdauw Bladhoning, bladluizenhon-ing
Finnish Mesikaste Lehtihunaja
French Miellat Miel de miellat, miel de forêt
German Honigtau Honigtauhonig, Tauhonig, Waldhonig, Blatthonig
For all those interested in, and working with honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom, JAAS will be the authoritive journal of reference.
You can start submitting papers for peer review NOW More details on www.ibra.org.uk
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I B R A
Innovative Bright Radical Accurate
After a number of years of review and introspection IBRA is now set to re-establish itself on the global scene and take up once again the mantel that it has proudly worn for almost 60 years that of purveyor of accurate apicultural information to the world. The standards set by our Journal of Apicultural Research are the envy of many. For the last two years it has grown in content and quality. Each issue has: met its deadline, seen an increasing rise in citation ratings and won regular praise from the scientific community. All this has been achieved by a small team that more than matches, with honesty and integrity, big printing house competitors in the same field. Subscribers to the journal have always been able to gain access to back issues on the website. We have now devoted some intense development to our home pages and an all-new web site awaits you. JAR and Buzz Extra will be available in electronic format. However, now individual papers carry a DOI (Digital Object Identification) number to make access, research and referencing even easier. There are special areas for members only. However, the whole body of IBRA scientific knowledge will be much more accessible to casual searchers who will be free to read abstracts but will have to make a payment if they wish to down load full papers.
Over the years the bookshop has been a major supplier to discerning bibliophiles and the revenue generated has been vital in keeping IBRA alive and visible on the world beekeeping scene. The shop has developed and the increased stock is more easily accessible through the website. Members can buy their books and automatically re-ceive a 10% discount for their ongoing support. Perhaps the biggest news of all and certainly the most important, for it clearly shows that IBRA is once again taking a proactive role in apicultural matters, is the creation of a new sister journal to the respected JAR. It is obvious that there are huge developments involving hive products. Standards of quality and assessment of that quality continue to improve rapidly while the uses made of the products themselves have increased both in compass and reputation over the years. In particular medical uses and applications of honey and, increasingly, other bee-derived products, have become the focus of clinical analysis and interest. It is an area that can be subject to fanciful thought and much baseless pseudo-science BUT there is also much that is good happening in this field. IBRA, true to its founding traditions, wants to be in the vanguard of promoting this science and so is offering a vehicle for the publication of new research and new developments. The new publication will be called: Journal of ApiProduct and ApiMedical Science (JAAS) It is 46 years since JAR was first published – a journal that grew out of a scientific need. We hope JAAS, which also aims to fill a scientific need in this new and rapidly developing area, will take the same standards of peer reviewed quality, scientific truth and excellence well into 21st century. It will be an Electronic Journal only in order to eliminate crippling printing and postage costs and will be available on the website at the beginning of January 2009. Already on board are a team of international experts. Dr Stefan Bogdanov (Switzerland), a world honey authority, has agreed to be the Senior Editor: while Associate Editors, Dr Rose Cooper (Wales), Dr Christina Mateescu (Romania) and Professor Mitsuo Matsuka (Japan) have offered their expertise in the fields of wound healing, apitherapy research, and royal jelly production. Others will be invited to join the editorial board in due course.
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In the last issue of Buzz Extra I tried to share with you the joy of looking at and reading the large, it measures 230mm x 335mm x 65mm, leather bound tome that is John Dryden’s 1697 translation of the works of Virgil. The story was left at line 84 with the colony on the verge of swarming. The poem goes on:
But if intestine Broils allarm the hive (For two pretenders off for Empire strive) The vulgar in divided fractions jar; And murmuring sounds proclaim the Civil War.
Virgil was aware that there could not be two rulers in one colony and describes the clamorous division into two camps with each contingent like mounted warriors with their monarch, supposedly male at this point in apicultural understanding, in the midst.
And ev’ry knight is proud to prove his Worth. Prest for their Country’s Honour and their King’s
At this point it would seem that Dryden, the poet, gets a little carried away with a description of the two monarchs going head to head in battle:
Till one prevails (for one can only Reign.)
The result, again adorned by poetic licence, tells of the two “armies” one glowing with victory while the other is grey, grizzled and defeated. In another passage he seems to look upon swarming as a period of frivolous play.
But when the Swarms are eager of their play, And loath their empty Hives, and idly stray, Restrain the wanton Fugitives, and take A timely Care to bring the truants back. The Task is easy: but to clip the Wings Of their high flying and Arbitrary Kings: At their command, the people swarm away; Confine the Tyrant and the Slaves will stay.
This is surely the first written reference to wing clipping as a method of swarm prevention. The section on bees ends with some advice on suitable forage reflecting the geographical location of Greek soils and climate.
Sweet Gardens, full of Saffron Flow’rs, invite The wandering Gluttons, and retard their flight… And with wild Thyme and Sav’ry, plant the plain… And deck with fruitful Trees the Fields around, And with refreshing Waters drench the Ground.
With the knowledge we have gained over the millennia, the original Greek words were written around the year 29BC, it is possible to look at this work as a simple bucolic and pastoral diversion. However, it is more than that – it would be possible to keep bees based on the information outlined here – but it is a treasure of literature and the bound volume a thing of beauty in its own right.
Virgil’s Georgics (Part 2)
Richard Jones
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Dr Crane remembered in our latest publication
On the first anniversary of her death, 6 September 2008, IBRA is proud to honour Dr Eva Crane with a new book. Founder, and for 35 years Director, of the International Bee Research Association she was, for half a century, a towering figure in the world of bees and beekeeping. Her name must certainly go down in the apicultural annals alongside Langstroth and Dzierzon for like them her contribution to the body of beekeeping knowledge truly straddled the globe. The legacy of her written work has been, and will continue to be, a beacon to guide and inspire for many years to come. Yet, in spite of her international stature, she was a reserved and private person. This book respectfully sets out to give some personal glimpses of her work, her character and her life. There is a major contribution by Penny Walker who, for 34 years was a respected colleague, and much-loved friend. Penny gives some wonderful insights into the phenomenal intellectual and physical energy Eva put into her work. Her ability to take an overview, assess a situation, analyse the detail, plan a project and see it to fruition were quite astounding. The skills and mental stamina required for such output were developed in Eva’s childhood and formative years and again Penny, with discretion and respect, reveals previously unknown detail of these formative years. IBRA was Eva Crane’s creation and Richard Jones, the present director, gives new glimpses into the development of this institution not forgetting to pay heartfelt tribute to Eva’s husband Jim Crane whose generosity of spirit, encouragement and support were vital to Eva’s work and important factors in IBRA’s history.
The world’s “First Lady of Bees” may, at first, seem a trite remark but it is clearly true and can be seen time and time again in the book and through personal contributions from the following:
Octaaf Van Laere (Belgium) Hachiro Shimanuki, Anita Collins (USA) Peter Paterson (Kenya) Vladimír Veselý (Czech Republic) Jerzy Woyke (Poland) Randall Hepburn (South Africa) Francis G. Smith (Australia) Siriwat Wongsiri (Thailand) Wolf Engels (Germany) Mitsuo Matsuka (Japan) David Smith, Betty and Karl Showler (UK)
In a productive life that resulted in over 300 publications no tribute would be complete with out a contribution from the Grand Dame herself. It was a difficult task for the editors to select the most important or most memorable work to reprint but certainly the one chosen represents a major theme in all Eva’s writings:
Beekeeping as a sustainable practice: past, present and future There is also the treat of two original papers previously unpublished and the hint there may be further posthumous publication of material prepared by this remarkable woman. The book concludes with a complete list of all her publica-tions to-date. This makes it an immensely useful reference book as well as giving a fine human touch to the life and times of a lady whose contribution to the world history of beekeeping was as enormous as it was unique. The book is well illustrated with photographs, many in colour, most of which have not been published before.
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IBRA 16 North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY, Wales, UK Visit our website: www.ibra.org.uk
Why not pass this copy of Buzz Extra to a friend and encourage them to subscribe? Just £10.00, or the equivalent in your own currency, a year for four issues delivered as hard copy or pdf. Send your
donation with your details to IBRA, 16 North Road, Cardiff CF10 3DY or buy a subscription via our web site www.ibra.org.uk
Keeping bees and making honey by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCullum, published by David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 128 pages, soft back, full colour illustrations throughout. £14.99 plus postage and packing. If you want to get someone interested in beekeeping, or simply explain why the subject fascinates you, then give him or her a copy of this book. It is a very clear basic guide packed with straightforward information and lavishly illustrated. It covers the psychology of bees, how to care for them, how to make your garden bee friendly, collecting and packaging the honey harvest, things to make out of beeswax and even recipes for mouth watering honey treats. Just about everything any member of the family might want to know about the basics of bee-keeping. A great gift that would be much appreciated any recipient of any age.
A world without bees by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum, published by Guardian Books, London, 298 pages, 4 pages of coloured illustrations, hard back. £9.99 plus postage and packing. Honey bees are dying all over the world it is a matter of great concern and a wonderful subject for some lurid writing in the less thoughtful popular press. This book is based on a quotation that is wrongly attributed to Albert Einstein: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left.” It is an interesting read that provides useful background to anyone new to beekeeping. For those armed with knowledge and experience of the subject matter it raises a number of interesting debating points.
It may only be September but Christmas is fast approaching. What better gift for your favourite bee person, or even yourself, than a book. Just the thing when it is not possible to “play” with the bees themselves. Remember a book purchased from IBRA helps us to continue collecting, collating and disseminating bee information worldwide. This time we have three very different books to tempt you and please note our new website will automatically give you a 10% discount if your membership is up-to-date.
The Buzz about Bees – Biology of a Superorganism by Jűrgen Tautz, published by Springer Verlag, Berlin, 284 pages, hardback. £23.00 plus postage and packing. The ordered communal lives of thousands of bees in a colony, their interlinked activities and the skilful geometric architecture of their combs have fascinated observers for centuries. In cultures all over the world the bee is the symbol of positive and desirable qualities such as hard work, harmony and selflessness. A theme throughout the book is that bee colonies share a set of characteristics with a highly developed group of organisms, mammals, yet have retained the immortality of unicellular animals and show the survival strategies of both. The author is without doubt a most gifted communicator capable of taking these complicated scientific concepts and making them accessible to all. The text is certainly, readable and enjoyable but it is the outstanding quality of the photographs, almost one on every page and full colour throughout, which set this book apart and make it a “must have” item for anyone with an interest in bees.
