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A synthetically produced Nasonov pheromone can be used to attract a honey bee swarm to an unoccupied hive or a swarm-catching box. Synthetically produced Nasonov consists of citral and geraniol in a 2:1 ratio. The Nasonov gland was first described in 1882 by the Russian zoologist Nikolai Viktorovich Nasonov.
A nectar spur is a hollow extension of a part of a flower. The spur may arise from various parts of the flower: the sepals, petals, or hypanthium, and often contain tissues that secrete nectar (nectaries). [1] [2] Nectar spurs are present in many clades across the angiosperms, and are often cited as an example of convergent evolution. [3]
Trigona bees chew through unopened flowers to access pollen Trigona bees chew through unopened flowers to access pollen. Pollen theft, also known as pollen robbery or floral larceny, occurs when an animal actively eats or collects pollen from a plant species but provides little or no pollination in return.
The process of scent collection is quite similar across species. The male bee approaches the osmophore, the scent-producing part of the flower, and perches on the labellum. Using the long, dense hairs on its front legs, the bee gathers the aromatic substances, which are typically liquid but can also be found in crystalline form.
Nectar robbers may only get food in illegitimate ways because of the mismatch between the morphologies of their mouthparts and the floral structure; or they may rob nectar as a more energy-saving way to get nectar from flowers. [23] It is not completely clear how pollination mutualisms persist in the presence of cheating nectar robbers.
Images of a Mimulus flower in visible light (left) and ultraviolet light (right) showing a dark nectar guide that is visible to bees but not to humans. Nectar guides are markings or patterns seen in flowers of some angiosperm species, that guide pollinators to their rewards. Rewards commonly take the form of nectar, pollen, or both, but various ...
Flowers pollinated by bees and wasps vary in shape, colour and size. Yellow or blue plants are often visited, and flowers may have ultra-violet nectar guides, that help the insect to find the nectary. Some flowers, like sage or pea, have lower lips that will only open when sufficiently heavy insects, such as bees, land on them.
The nectar is a sugary substance that attracts birds and bees to the flower, who then take the pollen from the lining of the hypanthium and transfer it to the next flower they visit, usually a neighbouring plant. [5] The stamens borne on the hypanthium are the pollen-producing reproductive organs of the flower.