Quantitative physical variations in ripening of honey of indigenous hive bee apis cerana indica.

ABSTRACT

Physical factors of refractive index, optical density, viscosity and surface tension demonstrated quantitative change throughout five stages of honey ripening process in indigenous hive honeybee Apis cerana indica. The five stages of nectar to honey transformations include floral nectar (fn), honey crop of foragers (hf), honey crop of house bees (hh), unsealed honey cells (uh) and sealed honey cells (sh). All the four physical factors gradually augmented through successive stages of honey ripening phenomena. The refractive index of floral nectaries and sealed honey cells was 1.23 and 1.49 respectively. Similarly, the optical density of house bees and unsealed honey cells was 0.39 and 0.54 respectively. Viscosity and surface tension of honey crop of foragers and sealed honey cells were 0.15 poise, 0.76 dynes/cms. and 76.65 poise, 102.01 dynes/cms. respectively. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of viscosity and surface tension in honey formation was significant at P<0.01% levels and refractive index and optical density of honey in ripening process was not significant at P<0.01% levels.