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Concept
Nectar
Summary
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide herbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, honeyeaters and bats. Nectar plays a crucial role in the foraging economics and evolution of nectar-eating species; for example, nectar foraging behavior is largely responsible for the divergent evolution of the African honey bee, A. m. scutellata and the western honey bee.
Nectar is an economically important substance as it is the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar. For example, a number of parasitoid wasps (e.g. the social wasp species Apoica flavissima) rely on nectar as a primary food source. In turn, these wasps then hunt agricultural pest insects as food for their young.
Nectar is derived from Greek νεκταρ, the fabled drink of eternal life. Some derive the word from νε- or νη- "not" plus κτα- or κτεν- "kill", meaning "unkillable", thus "immortal". The common use of the word "nectar" to refer to the "sweet liquid in flowers", is first recorded in AD 1600.
A nectary or nectarine is floral tissue found in different locations in the flower and is one of several secretory floral structures, including elaiophores and osmophores, producing nectar, oil and scent respectively. The function of these structures is to attract potential pollinators, which may include insects, including bees and moths, and vertebrates such as hummingbirds and bats. Nectaries can occur on any floral part, but they may also represent a modified part or a novel structure.
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Ontological neighbourhood
Related publications (3)