The taro plants at school have been having some aphid problems. I tried spraying them with soap water, but it burned the leaves. Then I noticed there were lady bugs on the leaves. They eat aphids, and I didn’t want to hurt them so no more soap…
The plants haven’t seemed to be suffering to badly from the aphids, but they do get covered with the sweet sticky substance that aphids secrete. It’s called honeydew. Ants sometimes tend aphids so they can eat this honeydew.
I was curious. Did it taste sweet? I had to try it. I licked the leaf. It was sweet! Cool! A simple internet search confirms that honeydew is indeed edible. Interesting…
After the licking, I rinsed off the leaves. The honeydew shouldn’t stay on the leaves all the time. It isn’t good for them. The water washes some of the aphids away too.
I like how you researched it after you tasted it. 🙂
Ha! Did anyone see you lick the leaves? If anyone offered to bring you suppers for the next week, they saw you lick the leaves. 😉
All kidding aside, that is fascinating! So, they process plant matter like bees? Nature is crazy.