Sweet "dew drops" on bud sheaths??

[iamppdoc]

I have a mature, perfectly healthy Blc Houseman's Holiday that has numerous sweet tasting, "dew drops" all over it's three bud sheaths. I am familiar with this in aphid infestations but I can find no evidence of any bugs. What am I dealing with?

[estación seca]

Many orchids excrete this sugar solution on sheaths. One hypothesis is that it might attract ants, which might protect the inflorescence from predators.

[iamppdoc]

I have never heard of that. Thanks. That brings up another interesting point. Are ants a bad thing?

[estación seca]

In plant collections, ants are often a bad thing. Aphids and mealybugs sometimes secrete a sugar solution from their bodies while they feed. Ants like to eat the sugar solution. So, ants herd the other insects. Ants carry these pests from one plant to the next.

I don't know whether many or most ant species do this, but it is a definite problem in many collections.

[Helene]

I've read about it, but dont remember all (probably because I didnt read anything important enough to remember/ from not reliable enough source).

Anyway- I've only seen it on healthy plants in my house. No bugs in here. Some phals have it on their spike, and the catasetum has it on the new bulb.
Read something about sap from happy plants. (Lol, that was what the meaning of what I read was atleast. Excess sugar/nutrition something)
And yeah- also read the thing about bugs leaving sugar on plants. But only experienced on healthy plants.

Keep an eye on the plant to be sure, but I guess its not a bad thing if you cant see anything and the plant have no signs of anything bad.

So, well, nothing new- same as Estación said

Just chiming in to say I've had it and it wasnt a problem.
(Can be a problem though. Depending on cause)

Oh god- need to go to bed, middle of the night in my country.
Or maybe I end up reading more about it, I know I read something when I found the same on my plants.


Hope its just your plant being very happy☺️


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[My Green Pets]

Ants will drive away slugs, snails, grasshoppers, etc that come to feed on the delicate buds and new growths.

However as dry season said, the presence of ants can sometimes indicate aphids or mealybugs are also around. But ants do not attract or lead to infestations of these other pests.

[silken]

It's very common and often referred to as happy sap. Nothing to worry about usually found on healthy plants.

[CA2FLxplant]

Never found ants to be a *real* problem...

And Happy Sap means your plant is HAPPY...!! 👍

[My Green Pets]

[rbarata]

...as dry season said...

Ok, back to the subject...I see it as a good sign...and never saw ants in my orchids indoors. Outdoors is another subject...but nothing to worry about, so far.