PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The spotted lanternfly that has infested southeastern Pennsylvania’s trees is now invading the region’s pantries. Bees are taking a sticky secretion left behind by the invasive pests and turning it into honey. And as one Philadelphia beekeeper tells it, the spotted lanternfly honey business is booming.
Deep in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Southwest Philadelphia, close to Betsy Ross' former gravesite, Don Shump is pleased to see some of his hives hard at work. The founder and owner of Philadelphia Bee Co. says he has nine hive locations across the city.
“If you watch the bees that are coming into the entrance, you'll see some of them have little piles hanging off their back legs,” said Shump. “Those are girls that are bringing in feed.”
Usually, bees make honey by processing nectar collected from flowers in a specialized organ, where it is broken down into simple sugars. They then regurgitate it into the waxy cells of a honeycomb to store it as a food source for a rainy day.
Spotted lanterflies have been killing trees and crops and grossing us out since arriving in the U.S. in 2012. The invasive nuisance damages trees by feeding on their sap, but they cannot process the sugar. They excrete it in a sweet substance called honeydew, which they leave behind on tree trunks.
“Part of the way they're destructive is they cover everything with this sugar water, and if it's left to sit, it will get a black mold on it. And so that smothers the plants,” says Shump.
But there is one upside: Sugar-loving honeybees seek out the dew that lanternflies leave behind.
"Because it's just sugar water, bees can collect it and make it into honey like any other nectar source," said Shump.
"Most beekeepers would have said, 'Oh, that's too weird,'” said Shump. “I'm like: ‘Yo, I keep bees in Philly. Weird, we do. Give me a bucket and let me see.’"
Shump sells traditional honey as well as a variety that includes honey made from the lanternfly leavings — which he says he has sold out of each year since its debut in 2020, despite its $14 price tag.
"The spotted lanternfly have been sort of our nemesis for years now, and so the notion they would be doing anything good for us is kind of hard for us to wrap our brains around," Shump said.
"They're an invasive species. We're not promoting them. We are just taking advantage of a bad situation."
He says the honey has been harder to get recently, which could be a sign the lanternfly population is dying back.
If you see a spotted lanternfly, experts recommend stomping on it immediately. If you happen to come across spotted lanternfly honey, Shump recommends pairing it with blue cheese.