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In the Biblical account, the name manna is said to derive from the question man hu, seemingly meaning "What is it?"; this is perhaps an Aramaic etymology, not a Hebrew one. Man is possibly cognate with the Arabic term man, meaning plant lice, with man hu thus meaning "this is plant lice", which fits one widespread modern identification of manna, the crystallized honeydew of certain scale insects. In the environment of a desert, such honeydew rapidly dries due to evaporation of its water content, becoming a sticky solid, and later turning whitish, yellowish, or brownish; honeydew of this form is considered a delicacy in the Middle East, and is a good source of carbohydrates. In particular, there is a scale insect that feeds on tamarisk, the Tamarisk manna scale (Trabutina mannipara), which is often considered to be the prime candidate for biblical manna.

For Catholics, "manna" = bug poop? That would actually make a lot of sense.

No, for WikiPedia “manna” = bug poop.

And none of us knows for certain what manna was then, or this substance is now.

On the other hand, those who hate God will choose to believe manna was bug poop then, and use this episode to mock believers today.

For Catholics, "manna" = bug poop? That would actually make a lot of sense.

Stepping out of my sarcastic persona for a moment, the parashat man in Exodus 16 makes a big point of the presence of quails that cover the ground before the manna is gathered. There must be some connection, or the Torah would not note this (everything in the Torah is there for a reason).