I know that some ants will tend 'herds' of aphids for the sweet honey dew they produce, I was wondering if bees would find aphids attractive for the same reason?
I am asking because at the last beekeepers club meeting I attended one of the members brought a sample of a cherry tree branch that had little red aphids on it and she says that she witnessed bees flying to the trees were the aphids were, She says this caught her attention because there no blossoms on the trees that the bees were flying to.
My guess is that this honey would be honey-dew honey?
My wife brought me some honey from France that was gathered by the bees from aphids that live on pine trees (miel du sapin)
The bees may be getting propolis from the tree because the aphids cause a lot of damage to the tree and the tree is producing a lot of sap to seal up the damage.
Jim
Yes, they will work Aphids for honey dew. Like the poster above mentions it is quite popular over in Europe. I think they make quite a bit of it in the Black forest. I don't think they make much over on this side of the pond. But, I have witnessed it one time on a River Birch tree.