I realised whats missing from dwarf fortress last night, honey.
This could have numerouse uses in game, candying to prevent food rotting, as a trade good, as a meal ingreadient and when the health care system is brought in honey has mild antispetic qualities.
Honey could be implemented in two ways, first as an item to be gathered like spider webs, and like webs it could come in two forms normal, and royal (which would be guarded be a giant bee, although not as overpowered as a giant cave spider). Royal honey would be the same as normal only better in everyway, and if eaten raw would instanly make the dwarf escativ.
Or secondaly with a new building the Apiary. Honey could then be harvested from here, although every use would have a small chance of angering the bees, this would inflict minor wounds and a large unhappy effect. The bees could be made docile by using smoke (which would cost a unit of coke) or the effect reduced by making bee keeping gear.
A possible added affect would be increasing the yield from nearby fields as the bees pollenate them (although i am unsure about the practablity of this and whether it would make sence as they are underground plants and so are unlikly to be used to bees pollenating them).
So what do you all think?