Mildew. Not an unusual word, but one with an unusual history. < OE mildéaw 'honeydew, nectar' < Germanic compound meliþ-dauwaz; PIE *meli-t- 'honey' + *dheu- 'to run, flow, trickle'.

so how/when did it break the mold and end up where it is today?

Whence the meaning of sperm of male fisn?

Well, it was used in the sense of honeydew from Old English times up to the 17th century. Does anybody know if honeydew (left by aphids on leaves) develops into mildew?

See now, you learn stuff everyday. I thought honeydew was just that green melon - the weaker tasting relative of the cantaloupe.

I've never heard of honeydew as aphid, um, aphid what, spit? urine? Is it used to catch prey?

I've never heard of honeydew as aphid, um, aphid what, spit? urine? Is it used to catch prey?
Urine is i guess the best term. (waste fluid is how i heard it..)

is it used to catch prey? no, in fact it make the aphids likely to be kept as prey! there are species of ants that herd aphids, and collect the honeydew, they ferment it, and use it as food... (right food, ferment sugar syrup, food!)

there are several different type aphids, --some are specific to one or two plants, some type will 'florish' where ever they are.. but most aphids excrete honeydew!

and honey dew will rapidly turn black with mold.

and honey dew will rapidly turn black with mold.

Thanks, of troy. I've always loved the idea of ants as aphid herders. Symbiosis. As for the etymology of aphid. Nobody's sure. Linnæus may have coined the word for 'plant louse'.

I used to park my car under Norway maples. In warm weather, every morning my windshield was blurry with honeydew. I was read that the aphids get minerals from the sap, and just excrete almost all of the sugar. Hummingbirds nested in
the maples, and ate most of the aphids. But never enough to
do me any good.

When did it break the mold...

I applaud you, etaoin, for your pun...did you intend it?

but of course...