Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers in which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide anti-herbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds and bats.
Nectar is an ecologically important item, the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar such as almost all solitary wasps. In turn, these wasps then hunt agricultural pest insects as food for their young. For example, thread-waisted wasps (genus Ammophila) are known for hunting caterpillars that are destructive to crops.
Nectar secretion increases as the flower is visited by pollinators. After pollination, the nectar is frequently reabsorbed into the plant.
Read more about Nectar: Etymology, Floral Nectaries, Extrafloral Nectaries, Natural Components of Nectar, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word nectar:
“The nectar and ambrosia, are withheld;
And in the midst of spoils and slaves, we thieves
And pirates of the universe, shut out
Daily to a more thin and outward rind,
Turn pale and starve. Therefore, to our sick eyes,
The stunted trees look sick, the summer short,
Clouds shade the sun, which will not tan our hay,
And nothing thrives to reach its natural term;”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“‘Tis said as Cupid danced among,
The God he down the nectar flung,
Which on the white rose being shed,
Made it forever after red.”
—Arthur Wimperis (1874–1953)
“The poet’s body even is not fed like other men’s, but he sometimes tastes the genuine nectar and ambrosia of the gods, and lives a divine life. By the healthful and invigorating thrills of inspiration his life is preserved to a serene old age.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)