India, Dec. 8 -- A surprising new product is spreading through beekeeping communities across the United States: lanternfly honey. It tastes bold and unusual, but its origin makes many people hesitate. Bees create this honey from a sweet liquid called honeydew, a substance spotted lanternflies excrete after feeding on tree sap.

One beekeeper in Washington, D.C. told The Washington Post, "It just doesn't have this gentle sweet taste. It's like your grandparents' cough drops."

Spotted lanternflies, first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, have now spread to 17 states. They coat trees with sticky honeydew in late summer, from August to October. With fewer flowers blooming then, bees happily collect it and transform it into honey.

The first ...