A question about nectar

polygro · #1 (**permalink**) 23-06-2009, 06:40 PM

I have not been able to find the answer to my query but know that someone here is bound to know the answer... and it's probably ever so simple!!

Butterflies and bees fly from flower to flower checking on nectar availability. Sometimes they dive in and at other times they go to another flower.

My question: does nectar continue to develop and mature in the flower so that it is worth the insect going back to check in case more is ready? Or once it is supped is that it?

Thanks

Polly

pleb · #2 (**permalink**) 24-06-2009, 07:10 PM

Your question got me thinking about nectar so I have done a little research. As you probably know, nectar is a sugar rich fluid secreted by nectar glands. Nothing I have read suggests that these glands, called nectaries, only secrete a limited amount of nectar and then stop. I think it is safe to assume that nectar is produced continuously, so, to answer your question, an insect that returned to a given flower after a period of time would find more nectar there.

Nectar, containing sucrose, fructose and glucose, often accumulates in special pouches or spurs and attracts animals to the flower thus allowing pollination to take place as the animal transfers pollen from the anthers to the stigma of the same or a different flower. Nectar is also the raw material that is used by honey bees to produce honey.

Sometimes nectar is produced by nectaries situated away from the flowers. These 'extrafloral nectaries' are often located on the leaf petiole, mid-rib or leaf margin. Lots more about nectar if you surf around the web.