. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 1918 AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 55 plant. For this purpose it is a highly desirable species. Horsemint Many years ago, when I became in- terested in bees on a Wisconsin farm, we used to look forward to the blooming of the horsemint (Monar- da punctata). This plant could always be counted on to yield an abundance of nectar every season. Much of the sandy prairie about one and one-half to two miles from our apiary was still unbroken and this plant grew in is correctly called Monarda fistulosa, but the plant which produces the honey for bees is the Monarda pun
. American bee journal. Bee culture; Bees. 1918 AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 55 plant. For this purpose it is a highly desirable species. Horsemint Many years ago, when I became in- terested in bees on a Wisconsin farm, we used to look forward to the blooming of the horsemint (Monar- da punctata). This plant could always be counted on to yield an abundance of nectar every season. Much of the sandy prairie about one and one-half to two miles from our apiary was still unbroken and this plant grew in is correctly called Monarda fistulosa, but the plant which produces the honey for bees is the Monarda punc- tata, which is a much better honey plant so far as bees are concerned. The statement made by Mr. Pellett on page 132 of the American Bee Jour- nal for 1915, is a very general state- ment. I am inclined to think that bees do not get very much honey from Monarda fistulosa, notwithstand- ing the opinion expressed by some that they do. It is a regular bumble-. HORSEMINT— (Monarda Fistul abundance. I sent a note on the value of this plant as a honey plant to the American Bee Journal. The plant was identified. Vol. IS, page 540, by Dr. J. W. Beal, of the Michigan Agricultural College, as Monarda fis- tulosa. The identification by Dr. Beal is an error. The plant in question is M. punctata. The perennial horsemint is minutely downy, with lanceolate petioled leaves. The lanceolate bracts are yellowish or greenish yel- low and purple. The flower is yel- lowish, the upper lip spotted with purple. The plant is found on sandy soil from New York to Wisconsin and Minnesota, to Texas and Florida. In the more southern region the an- nual lemon mint (M. citriodora). oc- curs, which is perhaps also valuable as a honey plant. In a recent visit to La Crosse and Onalaska, Wis., I noted that bees abundantly visited the horsemint. The bees were so abundant that it sounded like a swarm. This horse- mint is not common in Iowa, only occurring in the sandy region along the Mississippi, the Wapsipinni
Size: 1566px × 1596px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectbees, bookyear1861
