**1.4. Local honey production**

**1.2. Historical aspect**

172 Honey Analysis

was renowned for its spicy and blended taste [1].

production on the Maltese Islands.

**1.3. The Maltese bee**

In ancient history, honey from Malta was considered as a delicacy and was also exported from the island. Research suggests that it was the Phoenicians who introduced the domestication of beekeeping in Malta. The Phoenicians brought the knowledge of apiaries and earthenware jars construction. In fact some Punic apiaries cut out in the rock still remain today (**Figure 1**). During the Roman rule beekeeping continued in the Maltese Islands, as observed by the presence of Roman beehives. Honey was very important to the Roman Empire and documents were discovered where people who stole honey were brought to justice. The Maltese honey

In the Maltese Islands, there are a number of sites and places that have names originating from the apicultural industry e.g. "Wied il-Għasel" which means Valley of Honey and "Imġiebaħ" which means Apiaries. These names from the apicultural industry and the many ancient remains found around the island prove the basis of the bee population and honey

The production of honey in ancient times was much less than today's production. In fact, there was only one harvest season, the wild thyme honey season, which was on the 26th of July (religious Feast of St. Anne) [1]. The traditional techniques used in bee-honey production started to change in the 1950s as the first movable frame hives and tools were introduced. The hives and tools needed were generally imported from Britain. The hives imported were copied and then produced locally. Till today, the British Standard hive is usually used in Malta. The biggest drop in the use of jars was in the early 1990s when a Varroa mite infestation resulted in the elimination of about two-thirds of the entire bee colonies on the islands [2].

The Maltese Islands have their own endemic bee type, called *Apis melliferaruttneri* [3]. This endemic sub-species of honeybee is known to have inhabited the Maltese Islands for

**Figure 1.** An ancient apiary in Malta, dating from the Punic era. The jars used to be placed in the wall holes. The

beekeepers used to enter from the small door to add extensions to the back of the jars.

The local honey is produced from different floral sources depending on the season and the location of the apiaries. In Malta, beekeepers usually harvest three times during the year; the first harvest takes place in spring, the second harvest in summer and the third harvest in autumn.

The first type of honey that is harvested in the Maltese Islands is the spring multi-flora honey. This type of honey is produced from the nectar of several types of flowers that are present in spring time. Typical plants include red clovers (*Hedysarum coronarium*), bore thistle (*Galactites tomentosa*) and starflower (*Borago officinalis*). This type of honey is collected during May and has the tendency to solidify in a few months [1].

The second type is the summer wild thyme honey. Wild thyme (*Thymus capitatus*) is a shrub that starts flowering by late May in Malta. The nectar of wild thyme produces honey which has a very delicious and spicy taste. In the summer season, honey usually starts in the last week of May and ends between the end of June and the first week of July. This honey has been very famous since ancient times and is a type of honey that is sought by both locals and foreigners.

The last season of Maltese honey production is the autumn season. This honey season usually starts from the month of August and ends in November. By the end of August the bees start collecting nectar from the flowers of Eucalyptus (*Eucalyptus melliodora*) and later in October, nectar from the carob trees (*Ceratonia siliqua*). Some beekeepers harvest the eucalyptus honey and then afterwards harvest the carob honey. Other beekeepers harvest only once in late autumn to produce a multi-floral honey made from eucalyptus flowers, carob flowers and some other flowers that the bees might find in the beginning of the season. Local tradition states that honey produced from carob is good for sore throats and for people who smoke.

The historical unique attributes that have been assigned to the Maltese honey must be due to the vast range of wild flowers within the Maltese Islands. There are about 1000 species of mostly wild flowers identified in Malta such as wild thyme, white clover, bitumen clover, white mustard and borage [4]. The carob, citrus and stone fruit trees also help to give the honey a more special taste.
