whilst at my parents house a few weeks ago whilst it was a sunny afternoon i watched a bee feeding on the secretion from greenfly on her plum tree he sat for quite some time feeding we thought at first he was sunbathing until we looked closer and saw his proboscis out and was feeding on the secretion that the aphids were leaving on the leaves. I read somewhere that since plants that produce the nectar bees need to feed from are not abundant more and more have been resorting to this behavior. This is the first time we have seen this. I was wondering if anyone else had noticed this behavior. Bees love my moms garden and had two species of bees nesting there last year ( it caused some issues !) and the garden has visitors this year but not i such a great abundance is this behavior i witnessed harmful to the bees i think i read they wont be getting the right nutrients from this feeding.
They will sometimes use the aphid 'honeydew' to supplement their nectar supplies during droughts. It doesn't harm the bees but does make the honey darker than usual and taste bad.
ah thank you i will be sure not to eat local honey this season , just joking glad it is not detrimental to the bees
It is quite common for bees and ants to eat the sticky honeydew (secretions) from plant sucking inscects like aphids and even scale infestations. Secretions will eventually turn moldy black/gray and some people think they have a real problem with their plants. Ron
