Nectar guide

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Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names


	Nectar guides are colour pattern or lines on the flower petals especially found in bee-pollinated plants.

The nectar guides radiate out from the source of the nectar reward, and forming a high-contrast zone with a low ultraviolet reflectance near the centre of each petal, they essentially guide the pollinators to the centre of the flower like paint on an airport runway. This patterns are usually invisible to humans because our visual spectrum does not extend into the ultraviolet. Bees, however, can detect ultraviolet light. The contrasting nectar guide helps a bee quickly locate the flower's centre towards the nectar, this adaptation benefits both the flower (more efficient pollination) and the bee (rapid collection of nectar).

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