Bees in Dung Heap

[gwt_uk]

Hello all,

I noticed a lot of bees on a a dung heap near my apiary. Any thoughts on what they are interested in? It’s only horse manure/old shavings from stables and some recent grass cuttings.

 

[Earthboy]

Hello all,

I noticed a lot of bees on a a dung heap near my apiary. Any thoughts on what they are interested in? It’s only horse manure/old shavings from stables and some recent grass cuttings.

They seem to prefer filthy water, mixed with horse manure, for instance, probably because of the "mineral," such as salt, content.

 

[gwt_uk]

They seem to prefer filthy water, mixed with horse manure, for instance, probably because of the "mineral," such as salt, content.

Thank you.

 

[Bear]

I was at a talk many years ago about beekeeping and the woman giving the talk had this, she diddnt think it a problem. Except when she spun the honey off the supers the smell was bad (yes smelt like dung!) and the whole lot got fed back to the bees. None of it smelt right for human consumption so be aware. Dung is quite acidic and is left to kind of break down and not be so acidic before farmers put it on fields, that’s why you’ll see dung heaps for ages before it gets spread.

 

[Earthboy]

I was at a talk many years ago about beekeeping and the woman giving the talk had this, she diddnt think it a problem. Except when she spun the honey off the supers the smell was bad (yes smelt like dung!) and the whole lot got fed back to the bees. None of it smelt right for human consumption so be aware. Dung is quite acidic and is left to kind of break down and not be so acidic before farmers put it on fields, that’s why you’ll see dung heaps for ages before it gets spread.

Dung-smelly honey can happen but exceptional. This is what your National Honey Board states:


According to the National Honey Board, the acidity of honey ranges from a pH of about 3.4 to about 6.1, with an average of 3.9. The acidity of any honey is directly related to the floral sources that created it.


Honey contains a number of different acids, including about 18 amino acids, many different organic acids, as well as aliphatic and aromatic acids. The aromatic acids greatly contribute to the flavor of honey.


Acidity is measured on a scale of 1-14 called the [tooltip title=”potential of hydrogen” gravity=”nw”]pH[/tooltip] scale. One is very acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is very basic. There are many confusing aspects to the pH scale, one of which is that it is logarithmic. Hence, something with a pH of 2 is 10 times more acidic than something with a pH of 3 and 100 times more acidic than something with a pH of 4.


Most human foods fall into a pH range of about 2 to 7, but this presents no challenge to the human stomach which averages a pH of about 1.5 to 2. The acidity of honey is very close to that of the more acidic fruits.

• Lemons: 2.2-2.4
• Oranges: 3.0-4.0
• Honey: 3.9 [ranging from 3.2-6.1] (My Emphasis)
• Cherries: 3.2-4.0
• Carrots: 4.9-5.3
• Corn: 6.0-6.5
• Distilled Water: 7.0 [neutral]
• Eggs: 7.6-8.0 [somewhat basic]

Source:

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-acid-is-honey/

 

[Bear]

Dung-smelly honey can happen but exceptional. This is what your National Honey Board states:


According to the National Honey Board, the acidity of honey ranges from a pH of about 3.4 to about 6.1, with an average of 3.9. The acidity of any honey is directly related to the floral sources that created it.


Honey contains a number of different acids, including about 18 amino acids, many different organic acids, as well as aliphatic and aromatic acids. The aromatic acids greatly contribute to the flavor of honey.


Acidity is measured on a scale of 1-14 called the [tooltip title=”potential of hydrogen” gravity=”nw”]pH[/tooltip] scale. One is very acidic, 7 is neutral, and 14 is very basic. There are many confusing aspects to the pH scale, one of which is that it is logarithmic. Hence, something with a pH of 2 is 10 times more acidic than something with a pH of 3 and 100 times more acidic than something with a pH of 4.


Most human foods fall into a pH range of about 2 to 7, but this presents no challenge to the human stomach which averages a pH of about 1.5 to 2. The acidity of honey is very close to that of the more acidic fruits.

• Lemons: 2.2-2.4
• Oranges: 3.0-4.0
• Honey: 3.9 [ranging from 3.2-6.1] (My Emphasis)
• Cherries: 3.2-4.0
• Carrots: 4.9-5.3
• Corn: 6.0-6.5
• Distilled Water: 7.0 [neutral]
• Eggs: 7.6-8.0 [somewhat basic]

Source:

https://www.honeybeesuite.com/how-acid-is-honey/

Don’t care how acidic it is. The smell would be enough to put anyone off!!!

 

[Ian123]

I’d eat my hat if the bees collecting water from a dung heap affected the honey aroma, she probably had something like ivy or perhaps privet or if early dandelion in there.

 

[Bear]

I’d eat my hat if the bees collecting water from a dung heap affected the honey aroma, she probably had something like ivy or perhaps privet or if early dandelion in there.

Or actual waste matter from cows.

 

[Earthboy]

I’d eat my hat if the bees collecting water from a dung heap affected the honey aroma, she probably had something like ivy or perhaps privet or if early dandelion in there.

Agreed. Never ever had such honey in my long beekeeping career. But I saw my bees getting water from horse manure mixed rain water. At least, they are maybe getting any missing micro nutrient.

 

[madasafish]

Lots of cow dung in the adjacent 20 acre field.
Seen bees on it lots of times.

No smelly honey.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or actual waste matter from cows.

well, from bulls anyway

 

[DaveG23]

My bees in the garden have been collecting something from a pile of coffee grounds this week. Maybe I'll have caffeine honey , wonder if I can market that as an energy supplement? £30 a jar sounds about right.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

well, from bulls anyway

There used to be a company in Chester that shared an office building with one of my previous employers. They milked bulls. It wasn't wasted though and commanded high prices to stock farmers. Apparently they had a working fibreglass model of a cows rear end