| Title: | Function of environment-derived male perfumes in orchid bees |
| Author(s): | Henske J; Saleh NW; Chouvenc T; Ramirez SR; Eltz T; |
| Address: | "Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Bochum, NRW 44801, Germany. Electronic address: jonas.henske@rub.de. Entomology and Nematology Department, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL 33314, USA. Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Bochum, NRW 44801, Germany" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.060 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Perfume making in male orchid bees is a unique behavior that has given rise to an entire pollination syndrome in the neotropics.(1)(,)(2) Male orchid bees concoct and store species-specific perfume mixtures in specialized hind-leg pockets(3) using volatiles acquired from multiple environmental sources, including orchid flowers.(4)(,)(5) However, the function and the ultimate causes of this behavior have remained elusive.(2)(,)(6) Although previous observations suggested that male perfumes serve as chemical signals, the attractiveness for females has not be shown.(7)(,)(8) Here, we demonstrate that the possession of perfume increases male mating success and paternity in Euglossa dilemma, a species of orchid bees recently naturalized in Florida. We supplemented males reared from trap-nests with perfume loads harvested from wild conspecifics. In dual-choice experiments, males supplemented with perfumes mated with more females, and sired more offspring, than untreated, equal-aged, control males. Although perfume supplementation had little effect on the intensity of male courtship display, it changed the dynamics of male-male interactions. Our results demonstrate that male-acquired perfumes are sexual signals that stimulate females for mating and suggest that sexual selection is key in shaping the evolution of perfume communication in orchid bees" |
| Keywords: | Female Bees Male Animals *Perfume Courtship Species Specificity Florida Flowers Euglossini attractant chemical communication chemical ecology chemical signaling lure perfume pheromone sexual selection; |
| Notes: | "MedlineHenske, Jonas Saleh, Nicholas W Chouvenc, Thomas Ramirez, Santiago R Eltz, Thomas eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2023/04/14 Curr Biol. 2023 May 22; 33(10):2075-2080.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.060. Epub 2023 Apr 12" |
