We present a differential equation-based mathematical model of nectar foraging by the honey bee Apis mellifera. The model focuses on two behavioural classes; nectar foragers and nectar receivers. Results generated from the model are used to demonstrate how different classes within a collective can collaborate to combine information and produce finely tuned decisions through simple interactions....

Mammals frequently use nectar as a supplementary food, while a predominantly nectarivorous lifestyle with morphological specializations for this feeding mode is rare within the class. However, Neotropical flower-visiting bats largely depend on nectar resources and show distinct adaptations to a nectar diet. Glossophagine bats form local guilds of 2-6 species that may differ distinctly in skull ...

We all appreciate the beauty of flowers, but we seldom consider their function in the life cycle of the plant. The function of beautiful flowers is to advertise the presence of nectar. Floral nectar is the key component in the mutualism between flowering plants and their pollinators. Plants offer nectar as a reward for the transport of pollen by animal vectors. Studying nectar is challenging be...

Identifying the processes that drive community assembly has long been a central theme in ecology. For microorganisms, a traditional prevailing hypothesis states that "everything is everywhere, but the environment selects". Although the bacterial community in floral nectar may be affected by both atmosphere (air-borne bacteria) and animals as dispersal vectors, the environmental and geographic f...

Helicteres guazumifolia Kunth and Helicteres baruensis Jacq. (Sterculiaceae) are two sympatric species of shrubs common along the North Western tropical dry forest of Costa Rica. i recorded their nectar production within a 24 hour cycle. i also describe the morphology of extrafloral nectaries with scanning electron microscopy. in H. guazumifolia secretion was restricted to the first day of flow...

This study is aimed to produce economical and high quality orange nectar by partial replacement of sucrose with an equivalent sweetness from the safe artificial sweetener sucralose. Using different ratios from sucrose and sucralose at concentrations equivalent to sucrose sweetness in the final orange nectar affect significantly (p<0.05) the total soluble solids (Brix) and viscosity (cp) but doe...

Mouth-to-mouth food exchange in eusocial insects (trophallaxis) contributes to the organization of complex social activities. In the case of honeybees, foragers returning from a nectar source transfer the food collected to receiver colony-mates through oral contact. Previous studies have shown that the speed of nectar transfer within each contact (unloading rate) increases when foragers return ...

Floral nectar volume and concentration of ramson (Allium ursinum L. ssp. ucrainicum) were investigated in three different habitats, including two types of sessile oak-hornbeam association on brown forest soil with clay illuviation and a silver lime-flowering ash rock forest association on rendzina. Daily nectar production ranged from 0.1 to 3.8 μL per flower with sugar concentrations of 25 to 5...

The rheological behaviour of pulsed electric field (PEF) processed and thermally pasteurised mango nectar (Mangifera indica) was evaluated using controlled stress rheometer. The mango nectar was subjected to pulsed electric field (PEF) as well as thermal processing. The rheological parameter shear stress was measured up to the shear rate of 750 s -1 using co-axial cylinder attachment at wide ra...

Identifying the rules and mechanisms that determine the composition and diversity of naturally co-occurring species assemblages is a central topic in community ecology. Although micro-organisms represent the 'unseen majority' of species, individuals and biomass in many ecosystems and play pivotal roles in community development and function, the study of the factors influencing the assembly of m...