Nectar

plants · insects · pollination · sweet

Plants make it purposefully. Flowers produce nectar in special glands to attract animals like bees and butterflies. When these animals visit the flower to drink the sweet liquid, they accidentally pick up pollen and carry it to other flowers, helping plants make seeds.

Bees turn it into honey. Honeybees collect nectar and store it in a special pouch inside their bodies. Back at the hive, they pass it from bee to bee, and the nectar gradually becomes thicker and turns into honey.

Not just for insects. Many different animals drink nectar, including hummingbirds, bats, moths, and even some wasps and mosquitoes. Each animal is attracted to different flowers and helps pollinate them in its own way.

Thick and sugary. Nectar is a sticky, sugary liquid that's mostly water and sugar. This sweet energy helps fuel the animals that drink it so they can fly, buzz, and search for more flowers.

Sometimes on leaves too. Some plants make nectar on their leaves or stems, not just in their flowers. This extra nectar helps protect the plant by attracting helpful insects that eat the bugs trying to damage it.