| Title: | The European wool-carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) eavesdrops on plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during trichome collection |
| Author(s): | Graham KK; Brown S; Clarke S; Rose USR; Starks PT; |
| Address: | "Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. Electronic address: kelsey.katherine.graham@gmail.com. Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA 01830, USA. Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. Department of Biology, University of New England, Biddeford, ME 04005, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.08.005 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1872-8308 (Electronic) 0376-6357 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The plant-pollinator relationship is generally considered mutualistic. This relationship is less clear, however, when pollinators also cause tissue damage. Some Megachilidae bees collect plant material for nests from the plants they pollinate. In this study, we examined the relationship between Anthidium manicatum, the European wool-carder bee, and the source of its preferred nesting material - Stachys byzantina, lamb's ear. Female A. manicatum use their mandibles to trim trichomes from plants for nesting material (a behaviour dubbed 'carding'). Using volatile organic compound (VOC) headspace analysis and behavioural observations, we explored (a) how carding effects S. byzantina and (b) how A. manicatum may choose specific S. byzantina plants. We found that removal of trichomes leads to a dissimilar VOC bouquet compared to intact leaves, with a significant increase in VOC detection following damage. A. manicatum also visit S. byzantina plants with trichomes removed at a greater frequency compared to plants with trichomes intact. Our data suggest that A. manicatum eavesdrop on VOCs produced by damaged plants, leading to more carding damage for individual plants due to increased detectability by A. manicatum. Accordingly, visitation by A. manicatum to S. byzantina may incur both a benefit (pollination) and cost (tissue damage) to the plant" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Bees *Plants Pollination/*physiology Symbiosis *Trichomes *Volatile Organic Compounds Communication Cue Herbivore Pollinator Recognition Signal; |
| Notes: | "MedlineGraham, Kelsey K Brown, Steve Clarke, Stephanie Rose, Ursula S R Starks, Philip T eng Netherlands 2017/08/24 Behav Processes. 2017 Nov; 144:5-12. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.08.005. Epub 2017 Aug 19" |
