Bees and hummingbirds visit flowers for a sweet drink called nectar. Tiny nectar maker cells make that drink!
Drag to turn it around. Use the buttons to zoom in and try things from the lessons.
The 3D model can't load right now. Check your internet connection, or try a different web browser.
Many flowers have a small patch called a nectary, often deep down at the bottom of the flower. It is made of small, tightly packed nectar secretory cells.
These cells are very busy. They are full of thick, living cell stuff and lots of tiny energy makers. Sugar pipe cells run close by and bring them sugar.
Press Make nectar on the 3D model to watch sugar come up from the sugar pipe and drip out as nectar.
Nectar maker cells take in sugar from the plant and let it out as nectar, a sweet, watery drink.
Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and even some bats come to drink it. While they sip, pollen sticks to their bodies and gets carried to the next flower. That helps the plant make seeds.
Some plants also have nectaries on their leaves or stems. That nectar can bring in ants, which help guard the plant from leaf-eating bugs.
Honeybees make honey from nectar. They carry it back to the hive and dry it out until it turns thick and sweet.
By SciShow Kids. A fun video for kids.
Watch on YouTube →