Researchers develop technique to authenticate the origin of Western Australia's honey
Researchers from The University of Western Australia have developed a new technique to authenticate the origin of honey through its nectar signature.
Researchers from The University of Western Australia have developed a new technique to authenticate the origin of honey through its nectar signature.
Biochemistry
Jun 14, 2024
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Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple ...
Ecology
Jun 4, 2024
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48
The past attempts of honey bee researchers to inventory the fungal diversity in honey bee colonies revealed that Aspergillus flavus is frequently found in hives. In a new study, researchers have discovered that this fungus ...
Evolution
May 21, 2024
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121
Most of us have been stung by a bee and we know it's not much fun. But maybe we also felt a tinge of regret, or vindication, knowing the offending bee will die. Right? Well, for 99.96% of bee species, that's not actually ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 24, 2024
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Montesinho Natural Park (MNP) is celebrated for its diverse flora and unique climate, creating an ideal environment for producing honey with distinctive attributes. With the demand for natural products and Protected Designation ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 22, 2024
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The famous work ethic of honey bees might spell disaster for these busy crop pollinators as the climate warms, new research indicates.
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2024
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Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have developed an edible antiviral treatment that can be used to protect honey bees against deformed wing virus (DWV) ...
Biotechnology
Mar 19, 2024
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There are roughly 100 million managed western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in hives worldwide, with about half in Europe, Africa and western Asia, where the species is native, and the rest in the Americas, Oceania ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2024
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A tiny foe threatens Australian beekeepers' livelihood, our food supply and the national economy. First detected in New South Wales in 2022, the Varroa mite is now established in Australia.
Ecology
Feb 27, 2024
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As pollinators of flowers, trees and more than 50 crops, whereby they add an estimated $34 billion per year to the U.S. economy, honey bees offer value both ecological and economic—even before accounting for their signature ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 21, 2024
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Honey (English pronunciation: /ˈhʌni/) is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans. Honey produced by other bees and insects has distinctly different properties.
Honey bees transform nectar into honey by a process of regurgitation, and store it as a primary food source in wax honeycombs inside the beehive. Beekeeping practices encourage overproduction of honey so the excess can be taken from the colony.
Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and has approximately the same relative sweetness as that of granulated sugar. It has attractive chemical properties for baking, and a distinctive flavor that leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners. Most microorganisms do not grow in honey because of its low water activity of 0.6. However, honey sometimes contains dormant endospores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can be dangerous to infants, as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacteria in the infant's immature intestinal tract, leading to illness and even death (see Health hazards below).
Honey has a long history of human consumption, and is used in various foods and beverages as a sweetener and flavoring. It also has a role in religion and symbolism. Flavors of honey vary based on the nectar source, and various types and grades of honey are available. It is also used in various medicinal traditions to treat ailments. The study of pollens and spores in raw honey (melissopalynology) can determine floral sources of honey. Because bees carry an electrostatic charge, and can attract other particles, the same techniques of melissopalynology can be used in area environmental studies of radioactive particles, dust or particulate pollution.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA