Hi Jim

> It is nice to hear from Ruth again.
> I always enjoy her style.

I think that I know what you mean.

> Therefore, we can conclude from the title of the
> paper that the general scientific consensus is that
> not all nectars are scented.  (Input from botanists
> is welcome here.)

You can call me a botanist if you like, but I don't really
know the answer to this.  It is probably fair to say that
flowers pollinated primarily by bees, wasps and moths
usually have a scent noticeable to man.  Plants in general
seem to adapt their strategies for their particular
pollinators, whether that is switching on scent suddenly in
the evening to attract moths, producing pungent unpleasant
odours for some flies, or releasing sex pheromone to lure
frustrated male wasps.  I think that we would both agree
that scented flowers will be pollinated more effectively
than unscented flowers, so it wouldn't be surprising if
truly scent-free bee flowers are rare.

Something on the intricate co-evolution of scent and
pollinator here:

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en570/papers_2000/pineda.html

It is likely that bees will harvest nectar from species that
don't have much scent if there is an opportunity.  They will
certainly gather resources - often pollen - from plants
designed for wind pollination.  They will not have scent for
pollinators, but may have some kind of recognisable smell.
Corn/maize, wild grasses and hazel early in the season on
occasion.

I have to say that the experimental approach using the
manipulation of foragers or whole colonies provides a much
more compelling case for existence of communication via the
dance than a case based on the frequency of unscented
flowers amongst plant species.

all the best

Gavin

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