No this is not normal and your suspicion of a bug infestation is probably correct. The two most common pests that like Phals are mealie bugs and spider mites.

Use a white paper towel and wipe the undersides of the leaves. If you have an orange dust come off, you have found the bugs.

The other pest is mealy bugs. Check any crevice and see if you see them.

It could be scale but I've never found them on a Phal since they prefer some of my other species :>)

Brooke

I wiped the underside of leaves; no orange dust. I also looked in crevices and found no bugs. Should I treat this plant with safer soap or something like that just to be safe?

If you have examined for bugs and there are none there do not worry about it is a normal healty process. Years ago when I first started in Orchids I observed the same thing. I wash the plants down with warm soapy water. Isopropal etc, Still the honey dew would come back. I finally put the question before the orchid forum and got a response from a Botonist from Stanford University. She told me the same thing I just told your do worry about it is a normal healty process. It means you plants are enjoying life.

Definitely don't worry about it. This sounds exactly like guttation water, which is water being literally pushed out of the leaves. read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guttation

Some of my phals have honeydew on the leaves and there's no bugs. You should be fine.

Honeydew on the edges of the leaves can also be a sign of scale, so just keep an eye out for that. Hopefully they are just so happy and well fed that they don't have room for all the carbs they are making.

terpguy: i have a mango whose leaves are ON their surface with a sticky substance. if i touch them they feel like a syrup was poured on them. what could be the problem. from time time to time i have seen the same insect; green stink bug.

Thanks for your reply James,

i have observed most of the leaves carefully and am positive there are no scales or any other insects under or on leaves. Could it be that the plants are just thriving. I have foliar sprayed my mangoes with molasses. Soon after that that kind of sticky syrup showed.

I had scales too. First sign is increasing amount of honeydew. Scale is hard to find. In my case majority of bugs were sitting between roots on the stem. I found scale during re-potting.