sticky dew drops

[clusty]

Hey,

I noticed some sticky dew drops on some of my orchids.
Is that some sort of aphid or a naturally occurring thing.

I looked, but cannot spot any creepy crawlers on the plants.

[MrsSky]

Some of my orchids also do this on their flower spikes It hasn't caused a problem for me unless I put them outside (ants love it) A llittle shower should clean it off (I set them in front of a small fan to make sure that their leaves dry off)

[silken]

It's common for some orchids to do this. Some call it happy sap. So long as it isn't attracting too many insects, it is fine and natural.

Sometimes when there are aphids or other insects, there is another honey dew produced from them that is not part of the plant's natural process. It often turns black and is not the nice clear droplets at spike nodes or petal tips as in the 'happy sap'. It is a sign of insects and should be dealt with.

[RJSquirrel]

its only honey. Mother nature built in the sap producing process to help the orchid attract insects for pollination.

Its actually kind of sweet if you care to taste it. Ive taken a few bites of an orchid myself just to know what they tasted like since Ive eaten so many of them

[NYCorchidman]

It is technically not honey. Honey is flower nectar collected by honey bees, which is then mixed with enzymes made by honey bees. and then dried out a bit to reach thick consistency.

By the way, I too enjoy "harvesting" those sugar sap. They taste good. hahaha

[WhiteRabbit]

"Honey dew" , and I too have tasted it