An Australian Painted Lady feeding on nectar through its long proboscis
In zoology, nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum (T. rostratus), and Geckos (genus Phesulma) in Mauritius. The term is less exclusive than other -vores; many animals that are considered nectarivorous may also be insectivorous. Many species are nectar robbers, performing no pollination services to a plant while still consuming nectar.
Ecology
Many nectarivores have morphological features that are closely adapted to the geometries of flowers on which they feed.[1]
See also
References
- John A. Wiens. 1992. The Ecology of Bird Communities: Processes and variations, 336 pages
Line notes
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