>we concluded that the source of the dark colour was honeydew from the aphids

My guess, too, is that it's honeydew. We get it this time of year in Anchorage since there are few
flowers left for bees to work on. It seems to have the flavor of molasses, though milder. Honeydew
here in the U.S. gets little praise from beekeepers. At bee meetings it is often delicately couched in
the euphemism "aphid-poop". Older, crustier beekeepers will likely use a more more graphic four
letter word to describe it. I don't think that's completely accurate, though, is it? My understanding
is that most of the sap aphids pump from trees bypasses the gut and is ejected through their
cornicles. Can one of you entomologists comment on that?

Regards,
Dick Allen

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