Honeydewisaclassificationofhoneythatreferstohoneyproducedbyhoneybeescollectingnectarthatisexudedfromanotherinsectsuchasanaphidorscaleinsect.ItisquitecommoninanumberofcountriesandthebestknownishoneydewfromtheBlackForestinGermany.Worldwideitisreferredtovariouslyas"foresthoney","Pinehoney","Firhoney"etc.andmaybereferredtobythespecificspeciesoftreeproducingthehoneydew.
NewZealandHoneydewisoneofNewZealand'spremiumexporthoneys.IthasahistoryofexporttoEuropeandspecificallyGermanysincetheearly1970s.ThereareseveralhoneydewproducingscaleinsectsinNewZealandinhabitingavarietyofplants.Howevermostofthesearesmallhoneydewsourcesorintermittentproduction.ThebeechforestsoftheSouthIslandareadifferentstoryhowever.Twospeciesofbeechtreeinhabitedbytwospeciesofhoneydewinsect(thesootybeechscales)produceNewZealand'slargestsingleexportedhoneycrop.ThebeechtreesareBlackBeech(Nothofagussolandri)andRedBeech(N.fusca).ThetwoinsectsareUltracoelostomaassimileandU.brittini.U.brittinitendstoinhabitthetrunksandlargerbranches,whileU.assimileisrecorded(C.F.Morales)asfavouringtheupperbranchesandtwigs,thusU.brittiniistheinsectmostlikelytobeencounteredbythecasualobserverwanderinginthebeechforests.
Theblackcolouroftreesandplantswithahoneydewsourceisduetothegrowthofablacksootymould(Capnodiumfungus)onthesurplusnectarexudingovertheplantandsometimeseventheground.Particlesofthisfungusaretypicallyfoundinhoneydewandareusedasapartoftheidentificationashoneydew.
Colour
BeechhoneydewisoneofourdarkerhoneytypeswithaPfundScaleaverageof87.2mmandaStandardDeviationof10.5mm(600records).Colourdoesdependtosomeextentonarea.Therearesomeareasthatdoproducedarkerhoneydew.Whetherthisisduetolocalconditionsorblendsoflighter(nonhoneydew)honeysisuncertainbutwecanfindnocorrelationbetweenconductivityandcolour.Honeydewisgenerallyaslowerhoneyflowthanmostoftheotherflowerhoneys(althoughthereareexceptionsofcourse),andhoneybeesprefertostorehoneyslikethisclosertothebroodnest,typicallyindarkercombs.Thiscandarkenthecolouroftheresultanthoney.
Conductivity
NewZealandBeechhoneydewistypicalofmosthoneydewsinhavingahighconductivity.Thisarisesfromthenatureofhonedewproduction.AninsectoftheHomipteraorderofinsects(thosewithsapsuckingmouthpartse.g.aphids,scaleinsectsetc.)suckssapfromthehostplantandexudesasweetstickynectarwhichisessentiallyslightlymodifiedsap.Thisisthencollectedbyhoneybeesasanectarsourceandis"ripened"intohoney.Thispathwayisquitedifferentfromthatofnormalflowerhoneys.Thedirectsuckingofthesap,theadditionalinsectintheproductionchain,andthepresencesofsootymoulds,alladduptoanadditionalmineralcontentnotnormallyfoundinflowerhoneys.Thisisindirectlymeasuredbytheabilityofhoneydewtoconductelectricity.TheaverageconductivityforBeechhoneydewis12.6mS/cmwithastandarddeviationof2.5mS/cm(750records).
SugarProfile
HoneydewsarenormalyhighinFructose,lowinglucoseandhavehigherlevelsofhighersugarssuchasmaltose.Theirtendencytocrystalliseisalsolow.Beechhoneydewislikewiseveryslowcrystallizingandinfactsomebeechhoneydewsnevercrystallize.
AnotherfeatureofNewZealandbeechhoneydewisthepresenceofoligosaccharides(complexsugars)ingreaterlevelsthanaverageflowerhoneys.
Ithasbeenshownthatoligosaccharidesarehelpfulinmaintainingandpromotingbeneficialbacteriainthegut,particularlyaftertreatmentwithantibiotics.
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Normallyhoneydewisbelow17%moisture.Inthemainproductionarea,fermentationisnotgenerallyaconcern,buttheenvironmentissuchthatlargepopulationsofyeastcanoccurinthehoneydewforests.Thisisduetothepresenceoflargequantitiesofafoodresource(honeydewnectar)and,particularlyafterrain,wetconditions.Attimestheforestcansmellquitesourwithafermentationsmellandwaspscanbeobserveddrunkonthetreetrunks.Undertheseconditions,highlevelsofyeastmayoccurinhoneydewhoneythatcomefromthisenvironment,ratherthanfromfermentationoftheripenedhoney.Itispossiblethatthismaybemarkedagainsttheproductasaperceivedqualityissue,ratherthanitbeinganaturaloccurence.
