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BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: OzBuzz on December 16, 2010, 05:46:06 am

Title: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 16, 2010, 05:46:06 am
Has anyone ever had bright green honey? I've noticed my hives bringing in bright green nectar over the last few days... I'm north of Melbourne-is prickly pear a possibility?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: G3farms on December 16, 2010, 01:28:26 pm
The only bright green honey I have ever seen was when light colored yellow honey (think clover) was put in front of a black light, looked like a jar full of antifreeze.

There are some keeps around North Carolina that get purple honey evey now and then, they say it has a bubble gum taste to it.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 16, 2010, 06:20:37 pm
This one definitely isn't off clover and it's not under a black light. It's freshly drawn comb on black plastic foundation... i didn't believe it at first! i thought it was the light or my eyes playing tricks on me with the plastic foundation but i took some of the nectar out of the comb with my hivetool and sure enough - it's green! i don't know how it tastes though. I'd certainly be interested if any one else has experienced this
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: hardwood on December 16, 2010, 06:29:01 pm
Brazillian pepper honey here has an almost florescent yellow-green color to it and is really cool looking when you harvest the frames. I have no idea what your forage is down there but I'm anxious to hear if anyone has an answer for you. Can you post a pic?

Scott
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 16, 2010, 06:54:50 pm
I have never seen Brazillian Pepper down here - at the moment i'm leaning toward Prickly Pears but i haven't a clue... i'll definitely keep you posted and i will try and take a photo
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: swiftden on December 17, 2010, 12:11:02 am
I have 2 x 1kg tubs of green honey o got out of one of my hives. i am not sure what it is. tastes normal but still wary about eating it ! will post a picture if i work out how
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 17, 2010, 04:10:25 am
I have 2 x 1kg tubs of green honey o got out of one of my hives. i am not sure what it is. tastes normal but still wary about eating it ! will post a picture if i work out how

Where are you located swift?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: Geoff on December 17, 2010, 04:46:24 am
Dont think your bees are Italian, Carnolian, Russian or African Ozbuzz, but probably Irish.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: swiftden on December 17, 2010, 08:14:24 am
Bees are near Tailem Bend in South Australia. But the hive the honey came from came from Blackwood a about a month prior so not sure what they had been collecting
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: VolunteerK9 on December 17, 2010, 10:25:50 am
Wonder what the shipping cost would be from you to me? I would like to have a honey bear's worth of it when you extract it.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: Tommyt on December 21, 2010, 09:12:16 am
In New York they got some red Honey came from a factory that was making Marciano Cherry's
I also have seen Green candied Cherry's,Do you guys down there have any Local food industry
making anything with a sweet green syrup??
 In New York what they found, was the bees found the red syrup that was leaking from a Vat
and this became their Main diet,I believe the factory had to clean up the overflow of syrup.
Just a thought from the states.

Tommyt
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: AllenF on December 21, 2010, 07:18:21 pm
Have your bees be exposed to a large dose of gamma radiation lately?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 21, 2010, 08:23:07 pm
Hahah you're a comedia Allen! actually no! they've been exposed to a massive dose of kryptonite :)

seriously though, there is no industry in the area that could be contributing green syrup - and this is something that has only started over the last week and a half so it's something that has only just started flowering. The only thing i can put it down to so far is prickly pears...
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: AllenF on December 21, 2010, 08:25:17 pm
Could they be getting moisture from the flesh of the prickly pear?   A cut or hole in the leaf part would allow for water to be got out of it and the bees could collect it.   But I am just guessing here.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 21, 2010, 09:19:20 pm
That is a possibility - definitely - but the colour is quite consistent and the liquid is quite thick. I guess it could be syrup that's thickening as the moisture is evaporating off it. Do they normally store water in comb though?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: AllenF on December 21, 2010, 10:05:44 pm
People eat cactus.  I guess it might be sweet.    I bet there is sugar in there.  They may be making honey out of it. 
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on December 29, 2010, 07:34:05 am
What about artichoke?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: Burnsy on December 29, 2010, 08:27:27 am
My bees have been all over my artichokes and I have not noticed any green honey.  Given the bright purple flowers I would be surprised if artichoke nectar was green.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/EKBurnsy/Wrecks/Bees/13December2010028.jpg)
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: hardwood on December 29, 2010, 10:24:43 pm
Man I wish I could grow artichokes here! It looks like they do well down under (even if they do grow up-side-down).

Scott
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: Finski on January 04, 2011, 09:12:23 am
Have your bees be exposed to a large dose of gamma radiation lately?

Some elian has died in bushes by diabetes.

(http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_430xN.107067531.jpg)
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on January 04, 2011, 07:09:49 pm
Have your bees be exposed to a large dose of gamma radiation lately?

Some elian has died in bushes by diabetes.

(http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_430xN.107067531.jpg)


Hhahaha classic! I am no closer to figuring out the source! i'll just have to see how it tastes! They're also on to another flow now of the most glorious golden yellow nectar i have ever seen! Maybe they're supporting the aussie cricket team?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: philinacoma on February 17, 2011, 09:31:23 am
I heard 2 sources of green honeymentioned tonight by a commercial. One was a spinosa and the other was messmate. Apparently the later can appear green in the comb.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: Vetch on February 17, 2011, 09:57:14 am
Good tupelo honey can have a green tinge to it, but I have never seen it bright green. Purple and red can come from elderberries if there are no nectar sources and the bees take elderberry juice from berries.

I'm gonna speculate and say that the most common cause of green in honey is from nectar that contains chlorophyll for some reason (plant stress or disease or strange plant), but not sure if that is what you have.

Another thing that comes to mind is polyethylene glycol (PEG) if Bubba left a bucket of radiator coolant sitting around or some spilled somewhere. PEG has a sweet taste and a fluorescent green. It is toxic to humans and dogs (tears up the kidneys as it is metabolized), but this is not always a quick effect - it can take days or weeks. Not sure what effect it has on bees.

Found this on another forum, a report of bees foraging off spilled anti-freeze:

Quote
i put antifreeze in my car the other day and accidentally spilled a bit on the driveway i notice a couple of my honeybees lapping it up. i promptly stepped on them and took the water hose and washed it away. has anyone ever seen honeybees go after antifreeze??? i'm sure if they took it back to the hive it would contaminate the harvest. just thought i would post this to see your thoughts about.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194230 (http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194230)
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: OzBuzz on February 17, 2011, 06:57:13 pm
I heard 2 sources of green honeymentioned tonight by a commercial. One was a spinosa and the other was messmate. Apparently the later can appear green in the comb.

It could well be messmate! there is such a wide range of eucalypts around the location of my hives it's definitely possible! i haven't seen anything that looks like spinosa. Was that at the beeclub meeting?
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: philinacoma on February 18, 2011, 08:41:09 am
Was that at the beeclub meeting?

Yep.
Title: Re: Bright green honey?
Post by: west end apiary on June 10, 2011, 05:45:06 am
spoke to my uncle on the weekend and he was telling me that a friend of his used to chase st john's wart plants as they produced bright green honey,
So maybe this is where it came from,
     NIck