Condensation on my Cattleya's newest pseudobulb

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

conspiracy theory ----- orchid virus in honeydew/nectar into human equals covid19.

Huh?? cite your sources. Please don't spread bogus fake "information"... there's far too much of that already. And there is nothing funny about COVID-19.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Huh?? cite your sources. Please don't spread bogus fake "information"... there's far too much of that already. And there is nothing funny about COVID-19.

covid19 is not funny at all. It could have been much worse though. For example - if it had the same spreading power but with the deadliness of ebola ----- that would be ultra nasty. This bad situation we're in now provides a chance for everybody to gear-up for something much worse (but hopefully never comes to that!).

[estación seca]

I wish I still had my gecko sushi T-shirt from Crazy Shirts in Hawaii.

[orchitech]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I have ants on every plant I have (except the indoor ones) and there are no aphids. That’s because i also have lady bugs and lizards and they make sure everything is in balance.

I don’t want to derail but it’s why I don’t use insecticide or fungicide. The unintended casualties can be too great.

I do too. Actually, I do have different species of ants in my orchids and I also pesticide and fungicide the heck out of my orchids when needed. I have not been able to talk away boisduval scales out of my orchids,or convince organic predators to get rid of them once they show up. Acephate, malathion, Safari and others do the trick for me.

---------- Post added at 10:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 AM ----------

Originally Posted by SouthPark

conspiracy theory ----- orchid virus in honeydew/nectar into human equals covid19.

In any case, I would probably want to pasteurise/pasteurize it before putting it into my mouth! Just in case!!!!! A nice heat up in the oven first heheh.

Maybe you are right. That most be the reason I am losing chlorophyll plus have my Xylem and Phloem clotted.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I have spent a LOT of time in very rugged places and been blessed to have good guides, friends and knowledge to help me eat and thrive.......DO NOT EAT ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS

nature is tricky and if you do not know then you do not eat.....otherwise, Darwin away!!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I have spent a LOT of time in very rugged places and been blessed to have good guides, friends and knowledge to help me eat and thrive.......DO NOT EAT ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS

nature is tricky and if you do not know then you do not eat.....otherwise, Darwin away!!

Ultra wise and sensible. Nature is indeed tricky. Taking chances if uncertain about the substance or what it could possibly be laced with (even if we know a little bit about what the substance is) could lead to unforeseen very-bad/sorry consequences if we eat it.

Food and health safety is about knowing what it is, and even when knowing what it is - storing it properly/safely, having it clean/pasteurised etc to reduce/minimise/eliminate chances of problems ----- are good practices.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Roberta

SP, I have tasted the "honeydew" that orchids secrete, and it is sweet and lovely. And I'm still standing... remember, sugar is what plants make when they photosynthesize. When in rapid growth, they may make more than they need, and some collects on the surface. As long as it doesn't attract bugs, it is quite harmless. (Ants "farm" aphids which drill into the plant, collect the juices and excrete much more honeydew, the ants love that. So keep ants out of the plants. Because aphids are bad news)

As for the idiot who ate an innocent gecko on a dare, I don't feel sorry for him... He gets a Darwin award for removing himself from the gene pool thereby improving it.

LOL I taste the honeydew sometimes too. I'm glad I'm not the only one But it's normal on new growths and flower spikes, and nothing to worry about. Ants are attracted to it, but they won't harm the plant as long as they are not farming aphids, and then it's really the aphids harming the plant, not the ants, but you'll have to get rid of the ants to get rid of the aphids (although sometimes the pots make an ideal environment for an ant nest. When I bring my plants inside for the winter, I always have a few pots with ants living in them, but I just take the plant, submerge it to the top of the pot in a bucket of water, then put a stick or something leaning from the pot to the edge of the bucket to make like a bridge. Leave it like that overnight. The ants will grab as many larvae as they can, and evacuate the pot in search of dry ground. Sometimes not all of the ants will find the bridge and will congregate at the leaf tips, or whatever the highest point on the plant is, but you can just spray those guys off with a jet of water. It usually works the first time, but occasionally I have to do it twice). Sorry, I got a little off topic there with the ants, but the point is that yes, honeydew is normal on healthy plants, and yes it tastes lovely.

[piping plover]

In Cattleyas I have seen the nectar produced on new pseudobulb growths and also on buds swelling before blooming. I always understood it to be a reward, or attractant for ants that would then defend precious high value growths on the orchid plant in canopy environment.

[SouthPark]

I took this pic around 15 mins ago ----- what I need is one of those magnifying lenses!

Also - no way I'm going to taste it heheh. It's like stranger danger (learning a few things from Kindergarten Cop).

[SouthPark]

The shot appears out-of-focus, because a lot of compression (image) is done for the upload to OrchidBoard. That is - the OrchidBoard processing is what drops the clarity of uploaded images (but is understandable due to space/memory storage reasons). The actual image of the sap from the camera is nice, sharp and sparkly too.