Honeydew

Honeydew is a watery fluid excreted by aphids. It is a waste product excreted by the insects as they tap into the vessels within a plant.

The honeydew contains sugar and many other organisms feed on this sugary solution. Most notably ants drink the honeydew and in return they protect the aphids from predators.

A photograph of an ant collecting honeydew from aphids.
Photograph by böhringer friedrich licensed under Creative Commons.

Related terms

• Aphid
• Formicidae
• Mutualism

Related pages on this web site

• Ants

See other words beginning with H