Bees Loved M&amp;M

Always smiling

@allknowing (137781)

• India

25 Sep 15

@LadyDuck Babies too like to eat so many things that they are not supposed to eat.

2 people like this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

The little bees were not forced to do that, they simply loved so much the sugary shells of M&M that they preferred to feed on them than on flowers.

2 people like this

AnjaP

@Rollo1 (16679)

• Boston, Massachusetts

25 Sep 15

I can see that happening, the candy is so colorful and well, the bees love sweet things. Shame to throw all that honey away. But I wonder if it would be as good for you if it were made from candy-eating bees? In late summer, when the flowers are scarce, there are always bees hovering over garbage cans, etc., but I didn't think they were honey bees.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

Usually wasps are around garbage cans. The producers were obliged to throw the honey as it was not "pure" and contained artificial colorants. This make me think that even animals and insects love garbage food.

Inlemay

@Inlemay (17713)

• South Africa

25 Sep 15

@LadyDuck I must be like a BEE - I love M&M's - they are quite rare here as they are imported, but when we get the Big packets at the airport we buy a stash

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

@Inlemay Lany my niece is a M&M lover and she also collect those (in my opinion - horrible) plastic dispensers. She looks like a 13 year kid.

3 people like this

topffer

@topffer (42156)

• France

25 Sep 15

It is funny. I have had a cousin who was a beekeeper. Some of his beehives were near pine woods and the honey was quite black. He was mixing it with other honeys, as people don't want to buy a black honey. In the case of the beehives near a M&M factory, I think that the best would have been to move the beehives

2 people like this

topffer

@topffer (42156)

• France

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck You can also use honeys with a bad/not commercial color to feed the bees (Bees are generally fed in autumn with sugar syrup or honey). I suppose that they had fences and gates to stop kids, but a fence does not stop a bee

. A bee stings rarely and is less dangerous than a wasp, but they could also be dangerous for M&M's employees.

1 person likes this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

You are right, the honey in our region is dark because we have pine woods in this area. I believe that it was a good move to ask M&M to keep the waste remnants in closed containers, if a group of kids played in the area they would have been attracted like "bees".

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

@topffer I agree, they had to give the honey to the bees in winter. Wasps are dangerous, even because they can sting several times. I suppose that the M&M backyard was fenced, not all fences stop kids.

1 person likes this

rebel_woman06

@SIMPLYD (90721)

• Philippines

29 Sep 15

Sad that those people lost money because of their bees producing colored honey . And i am glad the M&M factory made a way to stop the bees from feeding on those discarded candy shells.

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rebel_woman06

@SIMPLYD (90721)

• Philippines

29 Sep 15

@LadyDuck Indeed , how can they not have thought of what is right on the first place.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

29 Sep 15

@SIMPLYD I am pretty sure they threw the waste on the ground to spare money. It's unbelievable how big industries do not care about pollution.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

29 Sep 15

In my opinion it was not a wise decision not to store the waste shell in closed containers from the beginning.

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Jabo

@jaboUK (64354)

• United Kingdom

25 Sep 15

I know that the taste of honey is affected by where they have been collecting the nectar, but I didn't realise that it could affect the colour.

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

Natural honey can be light yellow or dark brown according the are where bees collected the nectar. The color was due by all the artificial colorants used by M&M. It is crazy if you think that we eat those candies. (Well, not me).

3 people like this

Marsha

@MarshaMusselman (38865)

• Midland, Michigan

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck certain colors come from insects themselves. If people knew where they all came from they probably would be able to stay away more easily.

Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

25 Sep 15

Well I can't blame them as I love M&M's too

1 person likes this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

LOL, I can imagine the little bees feeding with M&M and not caring to go to search the nectar. I am sure they were not happy when they put the remnants in closed containers.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

@simone10 Poor things, they have found free easy food and suddenly everything disappeared.

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Sharon

@simone10 (54187)

• Louisville, Kentucky

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck Lol...It's quite the visual, isn't it? They were probably some very angry bees once their M&M's were gone.

1 person likes this

Shellyann36

@Shellyann36 (11384)

• United States

27 Sep 15

So glad the factory started cleaning up their messes. If the bees stop working we will all be in real trouble.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

27 Sep 15

They worked, but not the right way, because feeding on candy waste, they did not pollinate the flowers. I am glad that they were able to fix the problem.

Redva Kaurvaki

@redvakaurvaki (4216)

• Indonesia

26 Sep 15

and it's true story? Woww... that's really cool how the bees love M&M! And I wonder how they have those colored honey due to M&M!

1 person likes this

Redva Kaurvaki

@redvakaurvaki (4216)

• Indonesia

29 Sep 15

@LadyDuck It's very strange thing to me. But, is it affect honey quality or bring something bad? If it's not, the honey should value better

1 person likes this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

29 Sep 15

@redvakaurvaki The honey, to be sold, must be "pure", it means free from artificial colors and flavors. The M&M are packed with both, so the honey produced feeding on those waste was not "pure", but artificially colored. It had to be thrown.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

Yes this is a true story, the artificial colors were powerful enough to change the color of the honey produced by the bees.

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Judy Story

@jstory07 (139974)

• Roseburg, Oregon

26 Sep 15

Who would have thought that the bees would like colored candy shells. That is really interesting.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

I know that we use syrup to capture the wasp, they like the sugar and those insect are attracted by bright colors.

Mohd. Irfan Alam

@gregario888 (1276)

• Aurangabad, India

26 Sep 15

That is a unique form of pollution!

1 person likes this

Mohd. Irfan Alam

@gregario888 (1276)

• Aurangabad, India

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck Yes, surely! They can cause health hazards.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

I have to agree, all those artificial colorants are surely not good for our health too.

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Cahaya

@cahaya1983 (11116)

• Malaysia

25 Sep 15

Wow that's an unusual discovery. Hmm...now I can't help wondering if the honey tasted like M&Ms as well!

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

LOL, it seems that even insect love those little candies.

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Cahaya

@cahaya1983 (11116)

• Malaysia

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck I won't be surprised if that would inspire M&Ms to come up with honey-flavored candy in the future.

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Sheilamarie78

@Sheilamarie78 (2586)

• Canada

26 Sep 15

That is wild! Good thing they figured out the source of the (artificial) color!

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

It took a moment to find the reason. They had to follow the bees to see where they collected the nectar.

crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39509)

• United States

25 Sep 15

what the heck? one'd think such diff'rently colored honey, eh? sure that 'twas cause fer concern though. those bees'll seek out sweetness wheree'er its handy, so that makes sense. glad they found the culprits 'n i'll ne'er look 't an m&m quite the same.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

So true, bees search for sweetness, I see them coming around when there is an opened bottle of soda. The poor beekeepers were in shock, they have lost plenty of money because the colored honey had to be thrown (it was not "all natural").

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crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39509)

• United States

27 Sep 15

@LadyDuck i'd surely been scratchin' my head o'er such 's well. no doubt they did've massive loss. in these parts, they only harvest that honey once a year. there's no do o'ers fer mother nature/the bees gift.

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Gary Marsh

@garymarsh6 (23404)

• United Kingdom

26 Sep 15

OH I think they could have been quite creative and marketed it as natural flavoured M&M honey!

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

The problem is "natural flavoured", honey must not contain artificial colours, while we know very well that M&M are all artificial.

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Gary Marsh

@garymarsh6 (23404)

• United Kingdom

26 Sep 15

@LadyDuck Yes you are right there of course. I am not keen on them either. The colour of some foods are quite frightening!

bonnie

@bunnybon7 (50973)

• Holiday, Florida

26 Sep 15

now that is an interesting fact. i never knew they could do that. its like when you put cut flowers in a vase with colored water. they take on the color. how cute

1 person likes this

@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

You are right, this works also for flowers. Anyway, a few drops of artificial color are enough to color whipped cream or pastry fillings.

much2say

@much2say (56053)

• Los Angeles, California

25 Sep 15

Oh my gosh, that is too funny! But scary too as we seem to be losing our bees - this goes to show you that the things we throw out DO make an impact on our environment. Who knew that bees would actually eat M&Ms - but besides colored honey, what's does it do to their own bodies? And do they like plain or with peanuts?

1 person likes this

Marie

@Tampa_girl7 (50525)

• United States

26 Sep 15

Wow, what an interesting story. Thanks for sharing.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

When I think that we eat plenty of products with artificial colors!

Catherine

@bluesa (15022)

• Johannesburg, South Africa

25 Sep 15

I do not blame the Bees, I too enjoy M&M's. But, it might not have been healthy for them, with all that colorant. And I understand why they had to throw away that honey, though it is a pity.

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

26 Sep 15

The bees get the sweetness where it is more easily available. It's a shame that all the honey has to be destroyed.

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MARILYN

@Marilynda1225 (83109)

• United States

25 Sep 15

What a funny story. Didn't know that honey would come in colors depending on what the bees are

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@LadyDuck (472074)

• Switzerland

25 Sep 15

No, usually honey can be more or less dark but not colored. The honey from flowers of acacia is very light, but from chestnuts it is dark. The fact it was colored was due to the M&M shells discarded from the productions of the candies, that were full of artificial colors. Those colors are those we usually eat with products.

Marsha

@MarshaMusselman (38865)

• Midland, Michigan

26 Sep 15

I never heard that story before. I'm surprised the bees were even able to produce any honey. I'd think someone should have had the colored honey researched to see whether the flavors themselves were totally different along with the colors.You'd think it would have a different type of sweetness. It's a good thing they continued to look to figure out what the bees were feeding on. I'm sure they were shocked at their findings.

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