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Subject:
From:
Rick Fell <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 4 Aug 1995 16:55:03 -0400
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Diane:
In reference to your query I can offer a few comments since we have
recently done some work with honey contaning naturally toxic compounds.
First, the reference to toxic bees may be somewhat misleading, unless they
are referring to the sting. However, honey bees have been used in warfare,
dating as far back as Roman times.  There are for example, references to
the Romans loading bee hives on catapults and firing them at their enemies.
Other records can be found from the Middle Ages, where various armies
threw bee hives at their attackers - especially off of castle walls, and on
up through World War I and Vietnam.  A good reference for for this topic is
"Insects in Warfare" by John Ambrose (published in Army 24(12):33-38.)
 
With regard to toxic honey, there is also a long history.  One of the
earliest references comes from the writings of the Greek Xenophon (approx.
400 B.C.) who described the effects of soldiers eating a toxic honey.  The
incident occurred in what is now Turkey.  The soldiers were returning to
Greece from a campaign in the Persian Empire, encountered the hives and
robbed them of their honey.  Xenophon indicated that the soldiers who
consumed the honey lost thier senses, and were inflicted with "vomiting and
purging".  A later reference indicates that the honey of that region was
also used against soldiers of the Roman army under Pompey.  The
Heptakometes left jars of the honey along the roadside as a "tribute" to
some of the advancing army.  The soldiers who ate the honey lost their
senses and were easily defeated by the Heptakometes.  The source of this
toxic honey in the Middle East is probably Rhondodendron ponticum, although
R. luteum could also be a source.  A good reference to the toxic honey of
this region is Sutlupinar et al. 1993. Poisoning by toxic honey in Turkey,
Arch. Toxicol. 67:148-150.
 
There are several references to toxic honeys in the US.  The earliest
record of which I am aware dates back to Philadelphia in 1790, when a child
died from eating honey.  There are also references from the Civil War and
from the 1940's and 1960's.  The most recent report is the one we found
here in Virginia.  A beekeeper became violently ill after comsuming some
honey from his hives and ended up spending 6 days in the local hospital.
We were contacted about the possibility of the honey causing the problems
and subsequently analyzed the honey.  We found two grayanotoxins (primarily
nerve toxins that lead to a prolonged depolarization of the nerve)  in the
honey in sufficient levels to cause very serious medical problems.  Based
on the time of year, the area in which the honey was made, and the toxins,
we believe the source was Kalmia latifolia (Mountain laurel).  This type of
toxic honey is not common but seems to be reported once about every 20 or
30 years.
 
There are a number of other plants that produce nectars with various
toxins.  Some of these include Yellow jassamine, tansy ragwort, and
Egyptian henbane. If you would like more infromation on plants and specific
toxins, please let me know.
Hope this answers some of your questions.
Rick Fell
 
>
>Recently on another list, there was a reference to toxic bees used in
>battle during ancient times. There also seems to have been some interest
>in toxic honey or honey from toxic sources. I have not yet found the logs
>for that particular list (ancien-l) but thought what better place to toss out
>the query than here in the hopes that someone might have happened on
>related or similarly interesting information.
>
>Responses in private are fine but others might be interested too.
>
>Diane Cooper
>[log in to unmask]
 
Rick Fell
Associate Professor
Department of Entomology
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg,Virginia 24061
Tel. (540) 231-7207
e-mail: [log in to unmask]

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