Nectar facts for kids
Nectar is a sweet liquid made by plants. You can find it in the flowers of many plants. It is sweet because it contains sugar. Plants make nectar to attract animals that help them with pollination.
Nectar is made in special parts of the plant called nectaries. These nectaries are usually found at the bottom of the flower. When an animal tries to reach the nectar, it often touches the parts of the flower used for reproduction. This way, the animal helps the plant make new seeds and grow more plants.
Some plants also make nectar outside their flowers. This type of nectar helps attract predatory insects. These helpful insects will eat the nectar and also any plant-eating insects nearby. This acts like a bodyguard system for the plant!
Nectar is very important for us too. It is the main ingredient for honey, which bees make. Nectar is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because many adult predatory insects and hummingbirds eat it. Some plants that produce nectar also have very strong scents.
Nectar Outside the Flower
Nectaries that are not inside the flower are called extrafloral nectaries. These are special plant parts that make nectar. They grow outside the flowers and are not involved in how plants reproduce.
Unlike the nectar found in flowers, nectar made outside the flower usually helps protect the plant. This nectar attracts insects that hunt other insects. These helpful insects will eat the nectar and also any plant-eating insects that are close by. They act like tiny "bodyguards" for the plant!
Scientists have found extrafloral nectaries in over 3,941 different types of vascular plants. These plants belong to many different groups and families. About 99.7% of these are flowering plants. They are most common in a large group of flowering plants called eudicots, especially in plants like rosids.
Images for kids
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Nectar of camellia
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An Australian painted lady feeding on a flower's nectar
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Gymnadenia conopsea flowers with nectar-filled spur
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Ants on extrafloral nectaries in the lower surface of a young Drynaria quercifolia frond
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Loxura atymnus butterflies and yellow crazy ants consuming nectar secreted from the extrafloral nectaries of a Spathoglottis plicata bud
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Nylanderia flavipes ant visiting extrafloral nectaries of Senna
See also
In Spanish: Néctar (botánica) para niños
