Narcotic Narcoleptic Narcoterrific Nectar

It’s so hard to just say « no! », when you happen to be a pollinator.

Because, you know, nectar is not only food. It is not only highly sweet, nor just energetic like corn syrup. Because of its high sugar contents (many oses at many doses), nectar also happens to make the delight of microbes that made the trip to the flower via insect transportation. For this reason, nectar is often getting fermented.

In other words, don’t trust pollinators when then assure you it’s just « feeding » behaviour.  They constantly understate their actual need for nectar. It’s making little lights in their reward limbic system. They’re irremediably addicted, but they would never acknowledge it.

But would it be so true as to classify some pollinators as junkies?

Well, you guess there’s always already been scientists working out the answer*.

And it is « yes ». This is not a 100% definite answer, but still. The flowers of Epipactis helleborine (you know, the plant that sells crushed caterpillar juices) produce a nectar that’s just more than a scentific cabbage. It also smells vanilla (would you guess? it’s because of vanillin, also known as 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde).

And what’s more, this terrific mixture includes compounds with such wonderful names as:

– oxycodone (this one is for poetry),

– 3-{2-{3-{3-(benzyloxy)propyl}-3-indol,7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-3,6-D-morphinan (this one is for sciencestry),

both of which are narcotics. So the authors make the hypothesis that the phenomena of « drunken » pollinators may not only be triggered by the alcohol from fermented nectar, but also results from interactions with these nasty substances. To quote them, this might provide the plants with the advantage of turning pollinators mere attraction into compulsive obsession:

These substances make the insects, which drink the nectar to become „sluggish”, what prolongs the time, which they spent on the inflorescence and therefore increases chance of pollinating larger number of flowers. Such a strategy is very effective if taking into consideration the fact, that Epipactis helleborine flowers are not morphologically attractive to insects and that attendance of potential pollinator is dependent on habitat.

Indeed, it may be beneficial to make insect addicted to your own nectar. Except if the increased stay on the inflorescence translates into more self-pollination. But that would be a fair game, isn’t it?

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* A. Jakubska, D. Przando, M. Steininger, J. Aniol-Kwiatkowska and M. Kadej (2005). Why do pollinators become “sluggish”? Nectar chemical constituents from Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz (Orchidaceae). Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 3(2): 29-38.