Honeydew Honey

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. If you like the pine resin flavored Greek wine retsina, I have a honey suggestion for you. At Honey Travelers Single Flower honey page, they talk about forest or honeydew honey. Honeydew is the substance that aphids excrete – it is the bane of many gardeners as it coats the surface of lower leaves this sweet substance upon which sooty mold grows. But in the fir and spruce forests of Europe, certain aphids feed mainly on these conifer needles and their exudate, is not only filled with sugars but also resinous substances produced by the trees. Aphids are vegetarians so the excess fluid they excrete is practically nothing but sugar-filled sap. The bees collect the excreted substances instead of nectar, taking it back to their hives were it is transformed into honey. This dark complex honey is apparently an acquired taste.