The Spotted Lantern Fly and Bad Honey

[salvo]

Hi Folks,

I've heard about this recently:

https://www.beekeepingtodaypodcast.com/the-spotted-lantern-fly-and-bad-honey-with-dr-robyn-underwood-s5-e50/?fbclid=IwAR2cC0YScMVeKIZirOzbwzS_NrRLzwRf4-aAyBgWhURt2NyleEnU71m43B8

Sal

[BeeMaster2]

Salvo,
It doesn?t work on my iPhone.

Jim Altmiller

[Ben Framed]

Salvo,
It doesn?t work on my iPhone.

Jim Altmiller

Beekeeping Today Podcast

MAY 29, 2023
The Spotted Lantern Fly and Bad Honey
with Dr. Robyn Underwood (S5, E50)


In today?s episode, we talk with Dr. Robyn Underwood of Penn State?s Lopez-Uribe Lab. We?ve invited Robyn as she has researched and written about the Spotted Lantern Fly and how its presence can impact honey production.
Have you ever tasted your honey and thought was a bit off, or perhaps? way off?  Maybe even awful?  If you are along the East Coast of the United States and now even parts of the Midwest? check to see if you have the Spotted Lantern Fly in your State and locale.
If you do live in an area with the SLF? then what you may be tasting? what your bees may be collecting, is the ?honey? created from the sweet ?honeydew? excrement from the this imported leafhopper from China.
(Yes, the bees can collect enough of the honeydew to produce frames of SLF ?honey??)
It is a fascinating discussion of yet another invasive species you need to be aware of. Even if you do not live in one of the 13 states currently dealing with this leafhopper, you should know about it. The SLF is spreading fast, preferring the sweet sap of over 70 different plant species, especially grape plants, maple, and the Tree of Heaven.
To add insult to injury, the excremented honeydew, attracts not only honey bees, but other insects including wasps, plus, it builds up and promotes the growth of a dark sooty mold can will cover everything.
Listen today and be on the watch for the Spotted Lantern Fly!
We hope you enjoy the episode. Leave comments and questions in the Comments Section of the episode's website.
Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:
Penn State Extension Website about the Spotted Lantern Fly: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly
Robyn's Research on the Spotted Lantern Fly and Honey Bees: https://academic.oup.com/jee/article-abstract/112/6/2993/5523056?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Beekeeping Today Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@beekeepingtodaypodcast
Kim's Climate Change Blog: https://www.growingplanetmedia.com/blog
Honey Bee Obscura: https://www.honeybeeobscura.com

[BeeMaster2]

I was at my sisters house last year for my father?s funeral. Almost all of the maple trees have this 10? wide strip of sticky tape around them. These bugs were killing the trees and they were trying to stop it. The spotted lantern fly climbs up the trunk to lay its eggs and gets caught in the sticky tape. Someone had just changed the one on the tree next to her patio. It was not long before they were getting stuck on the paper. They are a real menace.
Jim Altmiller

[BarryFrantz]

Lanternfly is well established in eastern Pennsylvania and is spreading through adjacent states.  The honey that bees store from SLF honeydew is thick, dark brown with a smoky aftertaste.  It comes on starting in mid August around here (southcentral PA) through September.

Most people say they don't like it, but that's usually after they've heard someone say its garbage or lanternfly poo.  So they start off with a bias before even tasting it.  I don't like it compared to "real" honey but i'm used to good honey.  There's stories of people making BBQ sauce with it, hot honey, etc.  It can help bees get through dearth as well.  Possibly also for winter stores though there are stories of bees getting dysentery if they eat too much and can't make winter cleansing flights.  This last winter, no problem with that here.

We are expecting to get a good bit of this kind of honey this year, and if so don't know what we'll do with it.  We have built a good reputation with our small group of customers as having very good honey, and this doesn't make that grade.  There will be a lot of beekeepers facing the same problem.