How to measure nectar?

Question

I want to select plants based on their ability to produce nectar. Does anybody know how to measure nectar from small, medium, and large flowers?

Answer 1

It is rather difficult to do unless you have your very own lab complete with delicate glassware.  If you are looking for ones that will attract bees, butterflies, and other insects, look for species that are denoted as being especially fragrant or that attract butterflies/hummingbirds/etc.

If you do have the ability to work in a lab setting, the best are clover/alfalfa (small), old-fashioned cleome (it is an heirloom and it is white flowered and shorter than the typical cleomes)(medium), and hollyhock (large).

Answer 2

For quantification of nectar you can use method of  micropipetting or centrifugation.

The only publication about micropipetting, of nectar,  I found, unfortunately is in Spanish language:

http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S071...

I hope you can read it; otherwise google the method or try this description:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP10938...

For centrifugation method "extract" the nectar of a distinct portion of flowers with a distinct portion of solvent and centrifugate :

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pageren...