Killer Bee Honey

ribbon · 12-01-2009, 12:46 PM

A friend of mine who lives in Brazil sent me a gallon of wild killer bee honey. He said its a somewhat of a game to collect it around there. Its very dark (black almost) and has a VERY strong flavor. I'd say its more pronounced then buckwheat. It almost has a smoky flavor. Has anyone tried this? I'm sure it would differ greatly but its a interesting find.

Lunarpancake · 12-01-2009, 01:06 PM

crazy.....for some reason I didint think killer bees made honey......wasting their time hopping on flowers when they can be killing other bees and pissing us humans off.

Perhaps the honey is made from the fallen bee enemies?

**summersolstice** · 12-01-2009, 02:36 PM

Honey is the result of the flowering plants the bees visit and not so much the variety of bee. I'd submit that "killer bee honey" will taste very different, depending upon the region and the types of flowering plants available in the area.

ribbon · 12-01-2009, 02:44 PM

i wouldn't want to be the one collecting it though.

jtlawlor · 12-01-2009, 02:46 PM

BTW - you know that the killer bees are coming this way... be warned! I heard they were in Texas....

ribbon · 12-01-2009, 02:50 PM

I don't think they do too well in colder climates. The European bees seem to do better. Although they are a hybrid between the original African bees and European so they could always adapt. I hope not though.

**TXCurtis** · 12-01-2009, 02:58 PM

Actually, the whole reason Africanized bees are here is because of positive honey production and longevity factors. They were to be bred into domestic lines but some specimens escaped.

The honey, while a novelty, should taste no different than honey collected from a different kind of bee pollinating the same variety of flowers.

**JVD_X** · 12-01-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by curtis97322

Actually, the whole reason Africanized bees are here is because of positive honey production and longevity factors. They were to be bred into domestic lines but some specimens escaped.

The honey, while a novelty, should taste no different than honey collected from a different kind of bee pollinating the same variety of flowers.

As I understand it, they produce less honey than European lines. I recently read a study that indicated that they were "dumber" than European bees and will forget where they find nectar.

Yan · 12-01-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersolstice

Honey is the result of the flowering plants the bees visit and not so much the variety of bee. I'd submit that "killer bee honey" will taste very different, depending upon the region and the types of flowering plants available in the area.

I've been told by experienced beekeepers that the type of bee used does make a noticable difference in the honey. Some bees will collect much less resin and make less propolis than others and some will have a type of wax that's a lot different than others no matter where they feed, so I think certainly there might be different chemical traits natural to each type of bee's honey, even if they may be subtle in comparison to floral traits.

jdinger29 · 12-02-2009, 04:01 AM

You could call it "So good it's Meader" (murder)...

Or, make a cyser and call it "Homicyser"

I don't know, just some ideas...