Sacre Bleu! French Bees' Taste For M&Ms Makes For Colored Honey

By Mark Memmott

Published October 5, 2012 at 8:24 AM EDT

We knew the Honey Nut Cheerios bee liked sweet stuff. But imagine what would happen if he met green M&M?

Why were their bees producing honey in shades of blue and green, wondered beekeepers in the Alsace region of France?

The answer, according to France 24 and Le Monde, was that the bees apparently like M&M's.

"Instead of pollinating flowers in local fields, [the] bees had been tempted over to [a] biogas plant — more than 4km away — for sugary snacks," says France 24. The plant processes waste from a factory that produces those little candies that "melt in your mouth, not in your hand." It's now secured the waste to keep it away from the bees.

As for the honey, it's reportedly not fit for sale. Though we have to wonder if perhaps somebody's missing a marketing opportunity.

Update at 11:30 a.m. ET. Brooklyn's Red Bees:

Eyder remembered this New York Times story from 2010: "The Mystery of the Red Bees of Red Hook." There, bees were enjoying the sweet stuff at Dell's Maraschino Cherries Company.