Dallas went off on one of her of her Nature Walks, but for the very first time I wasn’t allowed to go along. Genepi and I don’t really understand this pre-occupation with bugs, flowers and such – but normally we go along with it, because whilst she’s prattling around with a camera, we get to play hide and seek in the undergrowth, and chase rabbits.

Today the focus was in the corner of a nearby sunflower field, where the flowers weren’t big, round and yellow but long, thin and white. Exquisite. And Dangerous.

There’s an extensive patch of Thorn Apple (Datura stamonium), also know as Jimson Weed or Devil’s Snare.  It is HIGHLY TOXIC and belongs to the Nightshade family. Now I know why we are locked in the kitchen. Imagine Genepi high on some psychoactive stimulant. She’s mental enough as it is.

All parts of this Datura plant contain dangerous levels of  substances classified as deleriants or hallucinogens. This didn’t stop the bees from collecting pollen / nectar.

They were out in force. Diving right down into the tube.

Emerging some seconds later, seemingly compos mentis.

This does beg the question : What does this do to the resultant honey?

To quote from Wikipedia ‘Some substances which are toxic to humans have no effect on bees. If bees obtain their nectar from certain flowers, the resulting honey can be psychoactive, or even toxic to humans, but innocuous to bees and their larvae.’ So its okay for the bees, but the honey may well be toxic.

This is a massive blow. Having lost one hive to wax moth, this probably means that the honey from the remaining hive should be ditched. Further research is now required. Any information will be gratefully received.