Pine honey
Encyclopedia
Pine honey is a type of honeydew honey. It is produced by honey bee
s that collect honeydew
(sugary secretions) from a scale insect
species, Marchalina hellenica
, which lives on the sap of certain pine
species. When the scale insects feed, they excrete waste in the form of honeydew.
The pine species on which Marchalina hellenica can be found are the Turkish Pine
(Pinus brutia) and, to a lesser extent, Aleppo Pine
(Pinus halepensis), Scots Pine
(Pinus sylvestris) and Stone Pine
(Pinus pinea). The insects hide in the cracks and under the scales of the bark of these trees, beneath a white cotton-like wax they secrete.
Pine honey is produced in western (mainly southwestern) Turkey
, a number of Greek
islands, and New Zealand
.
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
s that collect honeydew
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
(sugary secretions) from a scale insect
Scale insect
The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. There are about 8,000 species of scale insects.-Ecology:...
species, Marchalina hellenica
Marchalina hellenica
Marchalina hellenica is an Scale insect that lives in the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in Greece and Turkey. It lives by sucking the sap of pine trees, mainly the Turkish Pine and, to smaller extent, Aleppo Pine , Scots Pine and Stone Pine...
, which lives on the sap of certain pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
species. When the scale insects feed, they excrete waste in the form of honeydew.
The pine species on which Marchalina hellenica can be found are the Turkish Pine
Turkish Pine
Pinus brutia, the Turkish pine, is a pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of Greece, the Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus...
(Pinus brutia) and, to a lesser extent, Aleppo Pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
(Pinus halepensis), Scots Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
(Pinus sylvestris) and Stone Pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea). The insects hide in the cracks and under the scales of the bark of these trees, beneath a white cotton-like wax they secrete.
Pine honey is produced in western (mainly southwestern) Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, a number of Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
islands, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.