Anthony M Jadczak wrote:
>
>      Several beekeepers in Maine report corn honey production, they say it
>      tastes like corn but I thought it tasted like honeydew with a
>      molasses-like flavor. I have  guessed that it is probably honeydew
>      collected from aphids feeding on corn but who knows, the old Gleanings
>      article may be correct in some years at some locations.  It (korn?)
>      was prevalent in 1996-97 which were both dry years with poor clover
>      flows and with high aphid populations especially in the white pine.
>      In central Maine, bamboo doesn't bloom until early September.  The
>      "korn" honey is produced during the later part of July & August.  One
>      of us had better take a walk out into a corn field when this dark
>      honey starts coming in next summer a pull a few honey stomachs from
>      the visiting bees. In 97 a dairy farmer told me that the bees were
>      thick in his corn.  I told him they were there for the pollen, maybe I
>      was wrong.  Also, last summer the bees worked smooth bedstraw (Galium
>      mallugo) which I have never observed, anyone know if this plant
>      produces honey?  It was a poor honey year for most of Maine, perhaps
>      the bees were desperate.  Is there a method to differentiate honeydew
>      honey from honey derived from nectar?Hey Ton. I also can't go with the bamboo even though the color and taste
sound right. A fellow from Australia once told me that honeydew refracts
in the opposite direction of honey, I tested the dark honey and it
refracted very thick 15.5 but it refracted like normal. Anyone else hear
about honeydew refracting differently?