Spotted lanternflies and honeybees might not seem like an obvious pair for a symbiotic relationship. The two species are finding a way to make it work, though. It's having a big impact on the honey industry. Lanternflies are an invasive species from Asia. Officials in the US have told anyone coming across the red-and-grey winged bugs to squash them. That's because they feast on the sap of, and thereby damage or kill, a number of cash crops. They include grape vines, soybeans, and peaches. Despite the kill-on-sight order, lanternflies have spread up the East Coast. As they’ve multiplied, lanternflies have settled in many areas where honeybees forage for pollen. The bees have taken notice. That’s because when lanternflies suck the sap out of vines or twigs, they poop out sticky strands of sweet goo called “honeydew.” To the bees, that goo is as good as gold. They collect it and take it back to their hives. Then they make honey from it, just like flower pollen. “Think of it as a bit of ‘turning lemons into lemonade’ — the bees have taken a new challenge and created something unique,” beekeeper Sean Kennedy told The Washington Post. Honey made from lanternfly poop is darker and redder that regular honey. “Unique” is one way of describing its taste. Kennedy compares it to “your grandparents’ cough drops.” Another beekeeper told the Post it is “smoky, savory, salty, resinous, and lightly fruity.” And a third simply said, “Yuck, don’t put this in my mouth again.” Reflect: What is a time when something unexpected or unusual ended up leading to a new idea or change in how you saw the world? Photo of honeybees from Unsplash courtesy of Simon Kadula.
