have you noticed honeydew on tree leaves

Finman · Jul 5, 2018

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You have out there hot dry weathers, and good flow. Have you noticed sugar syrup on tree leaves and bees sucking the stuff from leaves?
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Dodge · Jul 5, 2018

Finman said:
.
You have out there hot dry weathers, and good flow. Have you noticed sugar syrup on tree leaves and bees sucking the stuff from leaves?
.

I enquired about a very dark even black Honey in a show. The exhibitor said it was Honeydew and a once In a lifetime.

Roola · Jul 5, 2018

Finman said:
.
You have out there hot dry weathers, and good flow. Have you noticed sugar syrup on tree leaves and bees sucking the stuff from leaves?
.

Yes... Was watching a few bees sucking from oak leaves yesterday. I meant to ask the question on here as to whether hot weather with no other forage will lead to a crop of honeydew honey. Last time I saw it was about 5 years ago here in London, all the honey in show was very dark. I'd love it if we did get a honeydew flow here in London as everything else has gone over now.

Finman · Jul 5, 2018

Roola said:
Yes... Was watching a few bees sucking from oak leaves yesterday. I meant to ask the question on here as to whether hot weather with no other forage will lead to a crop of honeydew honey. .

Oak is a good honey dew tree.

First, honey dew needs lots of aphids under the leaves.

When weather is hot and dry, sugar accumulates on leaves.
Rain washes sugar easily away. Broad leaves protect from washing.
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On the morning honey dew is favorit when night mist dilutes sugar on leaves. Sometimes sugar dribbles from leaves and make big droplets.

BMH · Jul 5, 2018

Hmm. Interesting one my apiaries has some very dark honey being stored its and full to the brim with mature oak trees!

Cant remember the last time it rained. Has to be at least 6 weeks.

masterBK · Jul 5, 2018

Extracted about 20 lb of some very dark honey water content 16.5% from a hive in my garden the other day. Strong malty taste. This won't be sold but kept for show entries as I only get such dark honey about once every 10 to 15 yrs or so.

Erichalfbee · Jul 5, 2018

masterBK said:
Extracted about 20 lb of some very dark honey water content 16.5% from a hive in my garden the other day. Strong malty taste. This won't be sold but kept for show entries as I only get such dark honey about once every 10 to 15 yrs or so.

Do you show the same honey every year for 10 to 15 years then?

masterBK · Jul 5, 2018

Same batch of honey used until something better comes along (but not the same jars of honey as Judge has been into them and taken off the lids so often I find specs of debris on surface afterwards and you never know how clean or dry their tasting rods are) .

A "good fresh honey" will usually beat a good older one. Always enter current years honey in Light, medium and soft set classes as able to get good samples of these most years. Ling heather is usually jarred the previous year to be entered the following year to allow it to gel.

philipm · Jul 5, 2018

Cut down a small sycamore yesterday the leaves were covered in aphids.

TryingToLetThemBee · Jul 6, 2018

Yes. Heavy aphids this year. Should mean lots of honeydew as everything else finishes.

Roola · Jul 7, 2018

TryingToLetThemBee said:
Yes. Heavy aphids this year. Should mean lots of honeydew as everything else finishes.

have you got much coming in now? Pretty much all over here in NE London.

MartinL · Jul 7, 2018

Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused/merged Tree secretions with Insect Excretia???

Finman · Jul 7, 2018

MartinL said:
Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused/merged Tree secretions with Insect Excretia???

What kind of tree secretions? In what tree?
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MartinL · Jul 7, 2018

Finman said:
What kind of tree secretions? In what tree?
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Transpiration, Basically Sweat. :facts:

Think you'll find all plants do it in hot weather!

Finman · Jul 7, 2018

MartinL said:
Transpiration, Basically Sweat.
Think you'll find all plants do it in hot weather!

No. No plant sweats. They save water and close their air holes.

Quite many plants press water via their leave tips when transpiration does not exist.

Finman · Jul 7, 2018

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Good video in YouTube: "Aphid Honeydew dossi". Aphid shoots the droplet far away.

TryingToLetThemBee · Jul 7, 2018

Roola said:
have you got much coming in now? Pretty much all over here in NE London.

No. All over here too, and sorting out merges etc. now. More hope than expectation of honeydew.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MartinL · Jul 7, 2018

Finman said:
No. No plant sweats. They save water and close their air holes.

Quite many plants press water via their leave tips when transpiration does not exist.

I don't suppose it happens too often in Finland, but,
you might want to close your hole after you've read up on Transpiration/Sir Francis Darwin? :ohthedrama:

Finman · Jul 8, 2018

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Not too often. Just properly.
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philipm · Jul 8, 2018

Nice hum coming from the big sycamore in my garden today.seems to be covered in all sorts of insects whether they are after honey dew I don't really know.

have you noticed honeydew on tree leaves

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