Species of the Septobasidiales can be recognized in the field by their thick growths on living trees. They might be mistaken for lichens but are never associated with algae. Scale insects and aphids actually absorb more sugars from plants than they can use and have a means of excreting this excess as droplets of "honeydew". The honeydew attracts ants, wasps and other insects as well as fungi that grow over the sugary secretions, coating the plants and insect colonies with a dense black layer of hyphae. These sooty moulds might also be confused with Septobasidiales but rarely form such uniform smooth colonies.