Chapter L: LADIES’ EAR DROPS, see Brunnichia

LADY’S THUMB, see Heartsease.

LAMBKILL, see Laurel.

LAUREL (Kalmia).

The mountain laurel (=Kalmia latifolia=), also known as calico-bush or spoon-wood and in the Southern States as poison ivy, is a common shrub occurring in the higher altitudes from New England and Ontario south to the Gulf States. It is widely credited as being the source of poisonous honey. (See Poisonous Honey). The sheep laurel or lambkill (Fig. 86) is a closely related species which occurs from Newfoundland and west to Michigan and south to north Georgia. They are shrubs with showy flowers which are not often reported as important honey plants. In some places, hillsides are covered with the mountain laurel, which makes a pleasing sight when in bloom. These plants are so well known that a great variety of common names have become known in different localities.

According to Sladen, the sheep laurel (=Kalmia angustifolia=) is one of the important sources of honey in Nova Scotia.

LAUREL-TREE, see Red Bay.

LEATHERWOOD, see Ti-ti.

LEMON (Citrus limon).

The lemon is a valuable source of honey in southern California, though much less is heard of it than of orange. It is cultivated principally in the coast region, and Richter suggests that the proximity to the ocean of the principal lemon groves may account for the fact that it does not yield as well as orange. Unlike other fruit trees, it blooms more or less continuously throughout the year. This again would make its real value less apparent, since a plant which yields a little nectar for a long period of time may give a total greater than one which gives a heavy yield for a short period. It is noted, also, that oranges yield less freely along the coast than in the interior valleys.

LETTUCE (Lactuca floridana).

Figure 87 will give a good idea of the height to which the wild blue lettuce grows. It is common in the woodland borders, in rich soil, from Pennsylvania to Iowa and south to Florida and Texas. The plant produces hundreds of blue flowers in late summer and early fall. Although it is of no special importance as a honey plant, the bees visit it frequently and apparently get some nectar from its blossoms. In the South it is reported as blooming in May and June. The writer does not recall having seen it in bloom in Iowa earlier than August, while it blooms into September. There are a considerable number of species of wild lettuce, some of which, like the prickly lettuce, become very troublesome weeds. The writer has not observed the bees working to any extent on any except the blue fall lettuce above described.

LEONURUS, see Motherwort.

LIGNUM-VITAE, see Soapbush.

LILAC, see Mountain Lilac.

LIME (Citrus acida).

The lime is a fruit very similar to the lemon, which has been introduced to some extent into the citrus districts. Since it is not generally grown it is not very important, though it yields honey freely.

LIMETREE, see Basswood.

LINDEN, see Basswood.

LION’S TAIL, see Motherwort.

LIPPIA GRASS, see Carpet Grass.

LIQUORICE (Glycyrrhiza lepidota).

The wild liquorice is a plant of the pulse family occurring from Minnesota to Missouri and westward to Washington and Arizona. It is found in Colorado and Wyoming at 4,000 to 8,000 feet altitude. It is reported as quite abundant in places in Wyoming, and some years as being a great yielder of nectar.

LIVE OAK, see Oak.

LOCALITY.

The plants which yield honey in surplus quantity are comparatively few in number. In the average locality there will be only two or three important sources of nectar, with a considerable number of minor ones which furnish the bees with a partial living between the main flows.

As an example, a typical Iowa locality may be mentioned. There white clover is the principal source of surplus honey. Now and then some surplus will be gathered in the fall, also, from heartsease. Yet the list of plants which yield nectar in that particular neighborhood is a rather long one. Were it not for these minor sources, to provide for the bees before and after the clover flow, beekeeping would hardly be possible there. To begin the season, fruit trees, apples, cherries and plums, furnish a liberal supply of nectar. These trees bloom early in spring when the bees are still weak from the long winter. If it were possible for the beekeeper to so conserve the strength of his colonies that they would come through the winter in as good condition as they are in mid-summer, a good crop of surplus honey would be gathered from fruit bloom in favorable seasons. Following fruit bloom, the dandelions come. There are several weeks of bloom from dandelion and the bees make the most of it. Considerable nectar and an abundance of pollen are gathered from dandelion, only to be used in brood-rearing. It takes a large amount of honey to rear a big force of bees, and without strong colonies of bees profitable crops of honey cannot be harvested. It takes honey, then, to make bees, and it takes bees again to gather a big crop of honey.

The dandelion continues to bloom, in some localities, until within a short time of the opening of the white clover flow. In favorable seasons, when the clover is abundant and weather conditions favorable, a liberal crop may be expected from the clover. Following the clover there is a long period when but little honey is coming from the field. In one neighborhood the bees may be entirely idle, while a short distance away there may be sufficient forage to support the colony. In the one location the surplus gathered from clover will be consumed, in part, to support the colony until the fall flow from heartsease; in the other the bees will gather enough from minor plants to support them. The one locality thus becomes a good one for beekeeping, while the other is poor, and perhaps they are but a few miles apart.

This is a fair example of general conditions. The locality may not be in the clover region, but the presence or absence of the minor plants is extremely important to the beekeeper who would support his family from the products of his apiary.

There are many locations where the presence of plants which yield pollen abundantly are second in importance only to the plants which furnish the main honeyflow. As an example, there are places along the Appalachicola River, in Florida, where enormous yields of surplus honey are sometimes secured from tupelo, but where there is so little pollen for the rest of the summer that the bees suffer seriously for the lack of it. In some places the beekeepers find it necessary to move their bees to other locations in order to maintain the strength of their colonies, following the flow from tupelo. Thousands of colonies of bees have died in locations where wonderful yields of honey have been harvested, because no pollen was available to enable them to continue brood-rearing.

It often happens that the crop will be a failure in one location, while but a few miles away it would be possible to gather a surplus by moving the bees. As an example, at Hamilton, Illinois, in 1919, the clover crop was a failure and the bees were on the point of requiring feed at the time when the clover harvest should be coming in. By moving their bees from fifteen to forty miles, the Dadants were able to harvest about forty thousand pounds of honey, instead of feeding to carry their bees through the winter.

It has become the practice of many California beekeepers to secure more than one crop by moving their bees several times during the season. Following the harvest from one source, the bees are moved by truck to other fields. Thus it is sometimes possible to use the same apiaries to harvest two or three good crops in a single season.

In like manner a well-known California queen breeder has found it possible to greatly increase his output by moving his queen-rearing yards to new fields when the nectar supply had ceased in his own location.

The variation in the supply of nectar in different localities is extremely great. A few locations will support several hundred colonies in one yard. Other locations will hardly support twenty colonies profitably. A careful study of the flora within reach is most important to the beekeeper. One who fully understands his location can adapt his system to his conditions and succeed where failure would otherwise result. John W. Cash, of north Georgia, had about eight hundred colonies of bees in a section where thirty colonies would overstock any single location. By establishing a large number of apiaries in widely scattered situations, he was able to secure a surprising uniformity of yield. For a period of several years he never secured less than 56 pounds average of surplus per colony. At the same time his highest average was 86 pounds per colony.

The combination of plants which yield surplus honey with those which yield pollen and those which furnish some nectar during the periods between the flows, together with climatic conditions, determine the value of a location for beekeeping. It does not require much skill to secure a crop of honey in a location where every condition is favorable, but the man who is fully acquainted with the flora will discount the crops of the hit-and-miss apiarist even there. In the poor locality it takes a thorough knowledge of the sources of honey and pollen, together with expert beekeeping to succeed.

LOCO WEED (Astragalus). Also called Rattle Weed or Buffalo Bean.

There are several species of =Astragalus=, common to the Rocky Mountain region, from Manitoba south to Texas, and west to California. The loco weeds are herbs with odd-pinnate leaves, and spikes or racemes of purple, white, or pale yellow flowers.

Several varieties are poisonous and are the source of heavy losses among the stockmen of the plains and mountain regions. Honey from loco is reported principally from Colorado, where it is mentioned as blooming with horsemint, in May and June. It is to be found mostly in the foothills and the yield is not dependable. The honey is reported as of light color and good flavor.

LOCUST (Robinia pseudo-acacia).

The black locust, or false acacia, is a native tree from Pennsylvania to Iowa and southward. However, it has been widely introduced into other States, thus greatly extending its range. It is now to be found in many places from New England and Canada southward. It is reported as producing a surplus of honey in parts of California, and is listed among the honey plants of Texas.

The wood is desirable for posts, railroad ties and other purposes requiring durability. Large plantations are often set for utility purposes, so that in some localities the beekeeper may readily expect a surplus from this source. Borers are a serious menace to the life of this tree, and whole plantations of locusts are sometimes injured by the insects, which kill the branches and sometimes the bodies of the trees, causing them to sprout again from the root.

According to Lovell the honey is water-white, of heavy body and mild flavor. Figure 88 shows the blossoms and leaves. The flowers, it will be noted, much resemble those of the garden pea.

In some localities the tree is known as white or yellow locust.

LOGWOOD (Haematoxylon campechianum).

The logwood is an important tree common to the West Indies and Central America, but probably does not occur within the United States. It is the principal source of vegetable dyes, most of which have been displaced by chemical products.

It grows in dense forests over large areas and in Jamaica is regarded as the principal source of honey. When conditions are favorable enormous crops of honey are harvested, single colonies sometimes gathering several hundred pounds. Since the forests are often miles in extent, large apiaries can be supported in a single location. The plant usually blooms twice during the year, once in November and the second time near the holiday period. That weather conditions affect the flow from logwood as readily as that of other plants will be seen by the following quotations from American Bee Journal of June 8, 1905:

“I noticed unmistakable evidences of an almost universal bloom, and
about ten days later it came out in all its glory. It was truly a
magnificent sight, and although the house was about 500 feet from
the apiary, the roar of the bees passing to and fro was a sound to
make glad the heart of any beekeeper. I went down to the apiary one
morning about 6 o’clock, and if I live to be 100 years old, I never
expect to see a more stirring scene in any apiary than I looked upon
in that yard of 250 colonies. * * * They kept up this pace for four
days; but, alas, it rained that Saturday night, and the next morning
the logwood blossoms were as brown as though they had been burnt,
and the flow was over. Six thousand pounds for the four days was the
record.”

The honey does not sell readily in American markets in competition with our mild-flavored clover and alfalfa produce. We quote further:

“Prices we received ran from a fraction below 2 cents per pound for
dark to a small fraction below 3 cents for the best, which was one of
the finest samples on the island.”

(See also Brazil.)

LOMBARDY STAR THISTLE, see Centaurea.

LOQUAT (Eriobotrya japonica).

The loquat (Fig. 89) is a Japanese fruit of evergreen habit and fragrant white flowers which has been introduced into parts of California. The tree is cultivated for ornament and for its edible fruit, which resembles a small yellow pear. It blooms in winter in California and is said to be an excellent honey plant.

LOOSESTRIFE, see Purple Loosestrife.

LOUISIANA--Honey Sources of.

Louisiana has a large variety of sources of nectar, with no one plant of special importance, in all parts of the State. Fruit bloom and forest trees furnish early nectar and pollen. In the northwest part of the State, near Shreveport, alfalfa is reported as a source of surplus. Holly, locust, tupelo, blackberry, asters and cotton are among the sources commonly reported. There are many minor plants which yield nectar and some in surplus quantity in limited localities. Much remains to be learned concerning the honey flora of this State.

Willow yields honey in such abundance that much honey is stored from it at times. White clover also yields, but is seldom important. Senna, horsemint, goldenrod and Spanish needle yield some honey in the fall.

LUCERNE, see Alfalfa.

LUPINE (Lupinus).

There are many species of lupines which are common, especially in the plains region and west to the Pacific Coast. Some are of no value to the bees, while others are good honey plants. Richter lists =Lupinus affinus= as a source of nectar in California.

The blue lupine or bluebonnet (=Lupinus subcarnosus=) is widely distributed over southern and western Texas, fairly covering large areas when in bloom. The blooming period comes in March or April and the author heard many reports of this plant, as an important source of early honey when visiting Texas. Some claim it yields only pollen. Scholl lists it as a source of honey.

In Colorado, beemen regard some lupines as good honey plants, also.

LYTHRUM, see Loosestrife.