![]() ![]() In contrast, the extra-nuptial nectar contains Tyramine. This occurs by blocking the receptors for the neurotransmitter adenosine, which shares structural elements with caffeine and other methylxanthines, such as theophylline ( Kennedy 2014). Caffeine also influences the long-term memory of bees ( Wright et al. 2013), increases foraging frequency, dance frequency, persistence and specificity of the foraging site in honeybee workers ( Couvillon et al. 2015). Theophylline alkaloids were previously reported in Citrus flower tissues and nectar ( Kretschmar and Baumann 1999), as well as in onion nectar ( Soto et al. 2016). In their article, de Kassia Balduino and colleagues suggest that this dopes the pollinator for better performance. The nuptial nectar contained a theophylline-like compound. The extra-nuptial nectar had a richer and less variable amino acid chemical profile.Īnother difference the botanists found was in the neuroactive compounds in the nectar. The nuptial nectar also had high amounts of γ-aminobutyric acid and β-aminobutyric acid which were missing from the extra-nuptial nectar. The nuptial nectar was sucrose-dominated, while the extra-nuptial nectar has more hexoses (glucose and fructose). They tested the nectar with high-performance liquid chromatography to look for differences in sugars, amino acids and specialised metabolites The botanists were particularly interested to see if the two nectaries were producing two distinct types of nectar to attract two different types of visitors. These nectaries attracted ants, but also some cockroaches, wasps and flies.Īmphilophium mansoanum flowers with nectar drops visible around the calyx. de Kassia Balduino and colleagues call these extra-nuptial nectaries, emphasising their removal from the pollination process, rather than as extra-floral, which is the description you might see elsewhere. There are also nectaries around the fringes of the calyx, the green protective coat of sepals that surround the flower. This attracts medium and large bees as pollinators and so is a nuptial nectary. In their new paper in AoB PLANTS Hannelise de Kassia Balduino and colleagues examined why a plant might have two kinds of nectary in the same flower.Īmphilophium mansoanum‘s flower has an annular (doughnut shaped) nectary around the ovary at the base of the floral tube. Now in the 21st Century, a team of Brazilian and Italian botanists are taking a closer look at nuptial and extra-nuptial nectaries, particularly when, as in the liana Amphilophium mansoanum, both types of nectary are found in the flower. Back in the 19th Century, Federico Delpino classified nectaries as nuptial, helping pollination, or extra-nuptial doing something else. Some plants have nectaries for insects outside the flower, so they cannot be for pollinating insects. You’re familiar with plants providing nectar in their flowers for pollinators, but this isn’t the only place they can produce nectar.
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