Gibson, nature writer and artist of the 1890s, describes the nature of things in “Honey Dew Picnic” from My Studio Neighbors (1897) is, a humorous essay about the feeding frenzy of insects in a forest. He says that while he never actually witnessed the honey-dew picnic, he has found ample evidence that it was so. For underneath the bramble bush, Gibson found the dismembered remains of butterflies, wasps, flies, etc. “There are picnics and picnics—picnics of high and of low degree,” he explained—nice story, but probably a myth.
See William Hamilton Gibson. My Studio Neighbors.. New York: Harper Bros., 1897 .I’m using edition of 1904 ed