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Acquisition of species-specific perfume blends: influence of habitat-dependent compound availability on odour choices of male orchid bees (Euglossa spp.)

  • Behavioral ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Male orchid bees (Euglossini, Apidae, Hymenoptera) expose species-specific blends of volatile chemicals (perfume bouquets) during their courtship display. The perfumes are acquired by collecting fragrant substances from environmental sources, which are then accumulated in specialised hind leg pouches. To balance the perfume composition, the males need to find and collect the required substances in specific relative amounts while facing seasonal, local or habitat-dependent differences in compound availability. Experience-dependent choice of odours, i.e. ‘learned avoidance’ of recently collected components, has been proposed as the mechanism that mediates the accumulation of the stereotypical compound ratios. In the present study, we used the presence of certain compounds in male hind leg pouches as proxy for the respective local compound availability, and investigated whether differences in content are correlated with differences in chemical choice assays. Our results suggest that volatile availability differs between localities (n = 16) as well as habitats (n = 2; coastal vs. inland) across the Yucatán peninsula, Mexico, for both studied species. Male Euglossa dilemma showed a pronounced preference for benzyl benzoate and eugenol at locations where those compounds were rare in hind leg extracts, as predicted by the learned avoidance model. No equivalent correlations were found for Euglossa viridissima. This is the first study to combine chemical analyses of perfumes with bioassays of odour choice. It strengthens the view that negative feedback from collected odours modifies future chemical choice and helps males to acquire specific perfume blends.

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Acknowledgments

Jorge Ramirez-Pech helped with sample collection. Funding was provided by the PROALMEX program (120989) of the German Academic Exchange Service and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (103341) to T.E. and J.Q.E., and the German Science Foundation (EL 249/6). Santiago Ramírez, Florian Leese, the Evolutionary Ecology journal club group (Bochum), and two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the manuscript. E.H., J.B. and N.S. would like to thank the European Union European Regional Development Fund and the County Administrative Board of Västernorrland for financing. All experiments comply with the current laws of Mexico and were performed with the necessary permits.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780, Bochum, Germany

    T. Pokorny & T. Eltz

  2. Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany

    T. Pokorny & M. Hannibal

  3. Departamento de Apicultura, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, 97100, Mexico

    J. J. G. Quezada-Euan

  4. Department of Applied Science and Design, Mid Sweden University, 851 70, Sundsvall, Sweden

    E. Hedenström, N. Sjöberg & J. Bång

Authors
  1. T. Pokorny
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  2. M. Hannibal
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  3. J. J. G. Quezada-Euan
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  4. E. Hedenström
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  5. N. Sjöberg
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  7. T. Eltz
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Correspondence to T. Pokorny.

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Communicated by Richard Karban.

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Pokorny, T., Hannibal, M., Quezada-Euan, J.J.G. et al. Acquisition of species-specific perfume blends: influence of habitat-dependent compound availability on odour choices of male orchid bees (Euglossa spp.). Oecologia 172, 417–425 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2620-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-013-2620-0

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