Artificial nectar robbing

Knowledge graph centered on Artificial nectar robbing with 74 nodes and 267 connections. Top connected: Hummingbird, Bombus, Ipomopsis, Are nectar robbers cheaters or mutualists?, Ligusticum porteri.

Method synopsis

A method to experimentally add nectar rewards to naturally pollen-only rewarding flowers by depositing measured volumes of artificial nectar solution onto flower structures accessible to pollinators. This allows testing of how nectar rewards affect pollinator behavior and plant reproduction in species that do not naturally produce nectar.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 44 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — The hole truth: why do bumble bees rob flowers more than once? (2024), Plants. The protocol was originally introduced by Nectar Robbing in <i>Ipomopsis aggregata</i>: Effects on Pollinator Behavior and Plant Fitness (1998), Oecologia. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Nectar production rate measurement by flower age
   Placed bags around 9 haphazardly chosen stalks bearing buds in 2016. All open flowers were carefully removed each morning, and each bag was opened. Three newly opened flowers within each bag were removed from plant and nectar drained using 2 μL capillary tube, then given date-specific marks. All other open flowers were given date-specific marks. Bags were then replaced. Following morning, removed bags and recorded both flowers marked previous day (now Day 2) and newly opened flowers. Removed 3 Day 2 flowers and recorded nectar volume, then measured nectar in 3 Day 1 flowers. Repeated daily until no flowers remained.
   Quantities: 9 bagged stalks, 3 flowers sampled per age class per day, total of 200 flowers measuredDuration: Daily sampling until no flowers remained within bagsConditions: Morning sampling during peak flowering period 2016
   Equipment: 2 μL capillary tubes, mesh bags, date-specific markers
2. Nectar refilling experiment
   Set up two treatments using 20 stalks each. Control Day 2: flowers bagged before opening, allowed to open in bag, sampled for nectar after 2 days accumulation. Total Refill: flowers similarly bagged before opening, but nectar drained twice (Day 1 and Day 2), then total nectar production measured. Used two-sided t-test assuming unequal variances to compare nectar volumes between treatments.
   Quantities: 40 total stalks: 20 control + 20 total refill treatmentDuration: 2-day experimental period

Typical Equipment

• micro-pipettes
• artificial nectar solution
• sucrose
• glucose
• fructose

Output Measurements

• pollinator visit duration
• pollen deposition rates
• plant reproductive success
• nectar consumption

Papers Using This Protocol (51)

Species Studied With This Protocol