The Delphic Bee: Bees and toxic honeys as pointers to psychoactive and other

medicinal plants.
Jonathan Ott
Economic Botany 52(3):260 -266,1998.

Herein a brief review, with 49 references, of the history and phytochemistry of
toxic honeys, in which bees have sequestered secondary compounds naturally
occurring in plant nectars ( floral and extrafloral) . I t is hypothesised that such
toxic honeys could have served as pointers to psychoactive and other medicinal
plants for human beings exploring novel ecosystems, causing such plants to stand
out, even against a background of extreme biodiversity. After reviewing various
ethnomedicinal uses of toxic honeys, the author suggests that pre- Columbian
Yucatecan Mayans intentionally produced a psychactive honey from the shamanic
inebriant Turbin corymbosa as a visionary substrate for manufacture of their ritual
metheglin, balch.
Tradition holds the famous Delphic Oracle was revealed by a swarm of bees, and the Pythia or
divinatory priestesses in Delphi's temple of Apollo were affectionately called 'Delphic Bees',
while virgin priestesses of Greek Goddesses like Rhea and Demeter were called melissai, 'bees';
the hierophants essenes,'king bees'. Great musicians and poets like Pindar were inspired by the
Muses, who bestowed the sacred enthusiasm of the logos, sending bees to anoint the poets' lips
with honey (Ransome 1937). Some hold the vatic revelations of the Pythia were stimulated by
inhaling visionary vapours of henbane, Hycscyamus niger L., issuing from a fumarole over
which the Delphic Bees were suspended, and into which the plant had been cast (Ratsch 1987).
The primordial Eurasian entheogenic plant soma/haoma, known in the Vedas as amrta, the
potion of immortality, was called ambrosia by the Greeks, and with nektar, the other sustenance
of the Immortals, was associated with bees and honey (Roscher 1883). This curious lore may
represent a sort of mythological fossil, concealing a hitherto overlooked mechanism of drug
discovery. I suggest that immemorial pursuit of wild honey, the only concentrated sweet which
occurs naturally, could have led inexorably to the discovery of psychoactive and other toxic
honeys, while subsequent observation of bees' foraging habits could easily have led preliterate
shamans/pharmacognosists to single out toxic plant species, even against a background of
extreme biodiversity, as in Amazonia.

Xenophon's 4th century BC Anabasis (IV,VII,20) described psychoactive honey poisoning
during the 'Retreat of the Ten Thousand' in the ill-starred expedition of Cyprus. Countless
soldiers in the greek army encamped near Trebizonde in Asia Minor, ate liberally of honey found
there, "lost their senses and vomited" and "resembled drunken persons." Pliny (XXI,XLV)
described madness-inducing honey from this area as meli mnomenon ('mad honey') and also
mentioned (XXI,XLVI) a medicinal honey from Crete, miraculum mellis or 'wondrous honey'
(Halliday 1922; Ransome 1937). The 6th-8th century BC Homeric Hymn to Hermes referred to
melissae or bee oracles from Delphi's Mount Parnassos, who could prophesy only after ingesting
meli chloron or 'green honey', perhaps a reference to Pliny's 'mad honey'. It was conjectured that
these bee-oracles were the Pythia, hence psychotropic honey could have been a catalyst for the
mantic utterances of the Delphic Bees (Mayor 1995). It is thought the source of meli
mnomenon was Rhodeodendron ponticum L., which contains toxic glucosides called
andromedotoxins or grayanotoxins (Krause 1926; Plugge 1891; Wood, et al. 1954) found in
other species of Ericaceae, notably Kalmia latifolia L., another plant whose honey has provoked
poisonings (Howes 1949; J ones 1947). Grayanotoxins occur in North American toxic honeys,
presumably from K.latifolia (Scott, Coldwell, and Wiberg 1971). Frequent honey poisonings in
J apan (Kohanawa 1957; Tokuda and Sumita 1925) were traced to ericaceous Tripetalieia
paniculata Sieb. Et Zucc., and grayanotoxins were found in these honeys (Tsuchiya et al. 1977).
Another toxic glucoside, ericolin, is known from ericaceous Ledum palustre L., and from honeys
derived from this plant, which caused human poisonings (Koslova 1957; Palmer-J ones 1965).
Both L.palustre and L.hypoleucum Kam. are used as shamanic inebriants by Tungusic tribes of
Siberia (Brekhman and Sam 1967); while 'Labrador Tea', L. groenlandicum Oeder of the
Kwakiutl Indians is said to have narcotic properties (Turner and Bell 1973), pointing to possible
content of ericolin and grayanotoxins.

An 'epidemic' of honey poisoning in New Zealand was traced to honeydew or excrement of
Scolypopa australis Walker, which had fed on leaves of tutu, Coriaria arborea Lindsay,
Coriariaceae (Palmer-J ones 1947; Palmer-J ones 1965; Palmer-J ones and White 1949).
'Mellitoxin' isolated from the honey was identical to hyaenanchin from euphorbiaceous
Hynanche globosa Lamb; and a second honey toxin, tutin, is found in C arborea (Clinch and
Turner 1968; Palmer-J ones 1965). This leaf-hopper had transformed tutin from tutu leaves into
hynanchin during digestion; the bees making honey from its excrement. Symptoms of this
honey poisoning included giddiness, delirium, excitement, suggesting a toxicological
relationship to the Ecuadorian shamanic inebriant C.thymifolia Humb. Et Bonpl.ex Willd.,
shanshi, used to induce sensations of flight (Naranjo 1969). Preliminary investigations of shanshi
suggested presence of a toxic glucoside (Naranjo and Naranjo 1961).

Solanaceare known both for shamanic inebriants and toxic honeys. Human honey poisonings
in Hungary were traced to Atropa Belladonna L. or Datura metel L., and symptoms resembled
those of tropane alkaloids scopolomine and hyoscyamine found in both (Hazslinszky 1956).
Polish honey poisonings were traced to D. inoxia Miller (=D.meteloides DC.ex Dunal ), and
scopolomine found in the honey (Lutomski, Debska and Gorecka 1972). Both scopolomine and
atropine were detected in toxic honey from Colombia, of unknown provenience (Barragan de
Dominguez 1973). Perhaps Brugmansia species were involved these Andean shamanic
inebriants (Ott 1993) yield toxic honeys (Lockwood 1979). Indole alkaloid gelsemine could
account for honey poisoning from loganiaceous Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) Aiton in 19th
century South Carolina symptoms also included giddiness (Kebler 1896).

Brasilian inebriating honey from stingless bee Trigona recurva Smith is called feiticeira
('sorceress') or vamo-nos-embora ('let's go!') in "allusion to the reeling, half drunken condition in
which one falls after partaking of this honey" (Ihering 1903(4)). Mombuca, Argentine stingless
bee (Melipona sp.) honey had "inebriating effects owing to the fact that the little bees harvest it
from some flowers with narcotic properties" (Spegazzini 1909). Toxic honeys oreceroch and
overecepes occur in Chiquitos, Bolivia; also a delicious honey, omocayoch, said to be as
inebriating as liquor (D'Orbigny 1839); while a Paraguayan honey was characterized "as
intoxicating as aqua vita" (Schwarz 1948).

So at least three categories of psychoactive phytotoxins-indole and tropane alkaloids and
glucosides-occur in toxic honeys, and likewise in nectars from which such are made (Vide:
reviews of non-sugar floral-nectar chemistry: Baker 1977; Baker and Baker 1983). Psychoactive
cannabinoids occur in bee pollen of marijuana, cannibinaceous Cannabis Sativa L. ( Paris,
Boucher and Cosson 1975). Pollen toxins could be sequestered by bees in honeys, as are nectar
or honeydew toxins. Cannabis nectar likely also contains cannibinoids, explaining a common
belief of marijuana growers, that marijuana honeys are psychotropic.

One of the more recondite Mesoamerican inebriants is the Mayan metheglin balch, a mead of
stingless-bee honey, water and bark of leguminous balch, Lonchocarpus violaceus (J aquin) DC.
(Goncalves de Lima, et al. 1977). L. violaceus is psychoactive, owing to content of longistylines
(Delle Monache, et al. 1977) or piscicidal rotenone, and Mayaist C. Ratsch proposed other
shamanic inebriants, like psilocybin musrooms and ololiuhqui (Turbina corymbosa (L.)
Rafinesque. Xtabentn in Mayan) were once added to balch (Ratsch 1992). Ratsch thought
feasible my suggestion that xtabentun may have been a balch ingredient, as honey rich in
psychotropics ergoline alkaloids of this Convolvulace(Hofmann 1963) - noting that the
Lacandon Indians, avid balch consumers know of inebriating honeys. Contemporary shamanic
use of T. corymbosa has not been documented among the Mayans, but is all but universal among
indigenous groups in Oaxaca, and occurs elsewhere in Mexico (Lipp 1991; Wasson 1963).
Besides psychoactivity, ergolines have potent uterotonic effects, and seeds of ololiuhqui/
Xtabentn are also used as ecbolics/oxytocics (to precipitate childbirth) by indigenous groups in
Oaxaca (Browner 1985; Ortiz de Montellano and Browner 1985). 'Virgin honey' of stingless bees
(Trigona sp.) is used in ethnogynecology, noting of Tabentun (Xtabentn, identified as
convolvulaceous):"the aromatic honey from its flower is said to be the source of a potent drink"
(Roys 1931). Oaxacan Mixe use T.Corymbosa as a shamanic inebriant, and also employ "special
honey" from Trigona sp. As an ethnogynacological remedy (Lipp 1991). Clavigero highly
praised estabentun honey (Clavigero 1780); entomologist H.F Schwarz attributed xtabentn
honey to Melipona beecheii Bennett, noting it was still produced in Yucutan in the 1940's, being
the most esteemed of many ethnomedicinal Mexican honeys (Schwarz 1948). An article on
Mayan apiculture described situating hives near natural strands of xtabentn, noting "all their
honey comes from this flower. No other is allowed to prosper in the immediate vicinity" (Mediz
Bolio 1974). These clues suggest colecab (M.beecheii). T.corymbosa honeys were produced
intentionally and much esteemed for constituent ergoline alkaloids conferring uterotonic and
psychoactive properties. Such honeys may have been exploited by the Mayans in fabrication of
their ritual metheglin balch, endowing the sacred inebriant with the plants legendary and
chemically-verified entheogenic properties.

Field work in Yucutan and Quintana Roo revealed xtabentn honey was no longer of economic
importance, and traditional Mayan hollow-log apiculture was found sadly degenerated. We failed
to obtain samples of xtabentn honey for bioassay and chemical analysis, but attempts to
produce it are underway. In Merida and Vallodolid, Yucutan, there survives production of a
distilled liqueur from fermented honey, and known as xtabentn! A modern liqueur named for a
pre-colombia entheogen, is yet another clue pointing to existence of inebriating T. corymbosa
honey, and its probable use as traditional fermentation substrate for the sacred Mayan metheglin
balch.
Xtabentn liqueur and conjectured use of psychoactive honey in balch have parallels in the
classical and modern worlds. Pliny noted meli mnomenon of Asia Minor was made into a mead
or metheglin, and toxic Ericacehoney was traditionally added to alcholic beverages in the
Caucasus, to enhance their inebriating properties; while such toxic honey, deli bal, is taken in
Turkey as a tonic in milk. Deli bal was an important export from this region in the 18th century,
widely used to potentiate liquors in Europe - called miel fou, 'crazy honey' in France (Mayor
1995). "very intoxicating" honey, likely from spp. (mountain laurel) was used in 18th century
New J ersey to 'spike' liquor sold under the appropriate trade name 'Metheglin' (J omes
1947;Kebler 1896)

Toxic honeys are not unusual (I have intentionally ignored the literature on non-psychoactive
plant (and industrial) toxins sequestered in honeys), nor are accidental inebriations by
psychoactive honeys exceptional. In satisfying the universal human "sweet tooth" during human
explorations of any given ecosystems, foragers would encounter psychoactive and other toxic
honeys. Having consumed such honeys and experienced psychoactive or other medicinal
properties of their contained alkaloids and allied phytochemicals, it would require no special
technology nor great imagination to follow the bees to the nectar source, thereby easily finding
valuable plants. It has been suggested that ethnomedicinal and culinary plants were discovered
by a systematic process of ingesting all species, in the eternal search for food. Some have
questioned whether such an extensive bioassay program were feasible in areas of extraordinarily
high biodiversity, such as Amazonia, thought to be home to at least 80 000 species of higher
plants (Schultes 1988)! Apart from observation of the effects of bioactive plants on domestic
wild animals, serendipitous encounters with phytotoxins in honeys could have served as highly
specific and efficient pointers to medicinal, especially psychoactive, plants, which would thus
stand out in deep relief, even against a backdrop of extreme biodiversity.

There is evidence that in the case of T.corymbosa among the Yucatecan Mayans, a toxic honey
may have attained exalted status as a preferred method of ingesting a psychoactive plant, even
being produced intentionally. These Mayans came to worship bee-gods like Ah-Muzen-
Cab,'Great Lord Bee', who can be seen descending even today above the entrances to pyramid-
top temples at Tulm and Coba, his ancestral home. Much as we sweeten our bitter medicines
with sugary syrups, bees collecting toxic nectars from flowers might naturally have prepared and
concentrated a sweetened drug for the delectation of awed human votaries of Ah-Muzen-Cab and
his industrious, heavenly host.