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Did you know? These orchid bees are not only scent collectors, they are also nature's perfumers!
Orchid bees, also known as Euglossini, are the only non-parasitic salivary gland bees whose behavior is not entirely social, making them a rather special group of organisms. The vast majority of these bees are solitary, with only a few being symbiotic or displaying simple social behaviors. There are currently about 200 described species, belonging to five genera, including Euglossa, Eulaema, Eufriesea, Exaerete and the monotypic Aglae.
The colors of these bees are mostly metallic green, gold and blue, making them charming.
All species are found in South or Central America, but one species, the Euglossa dilemma, has established a population in Florida, USA. The emergence of this species is an impact on the local ecosystem. In addition, bees of the genera Eulaema and Eufriesea are also present in Arizona and Texas. Bees of the genera Exaerete and Aglae are nest-stealers of other orchid bees.
Female bees typically collect pollen and honey for food, as well as resin, dirt, and other materials to build their nests. The same food plants are also used by male bees, but the male bees leave the nest after hatching and never return.
Collection of aroma
Male orchid bees have uniquely modified legs that allow them to collect and store different volatile compounds (usually esters), mainly from orchids of Stanhopeinae and Catasetinae, which are completely dependent on male flower picking. It is worth noting that these orchids do not produce nectar and hide their pollen in a place covered by pistils; therefore, female bees cannot visit these flowers because they need nectar and pollen as a food source for their offspring, but will go to other different types of plants to obtain these resources.
Male bees attract females by releasing concentrated volatile substances at their mating sites.
The entire pollinator that male bees extract from flowers becomes attached to their bodies when they leave the activity. The bees use special brushes on their front legs to collect the chemicals, from which they are rubbed onto combs on the mid-legs and eventually pressed through these combs into grooves on the hind legs, which squeezes the chemicals through the wax hairs that block the groove openings and into the spongy cavities of the hind legs.
The secret to attracting females
The "scents" collected by these male bees are apparently used in their display locations in the forest understory where male bees engage in mating behaviour. Although it was earlier thought that the odors emitted by these males used to attract females were pheromones, behavioral experiments have not been able to demonstrate female attraction to male odors or orchid scents. Researchers now believe that the odors emitted by males are a way of signaling "genetic quality" to females, because it takes so much effort for male bees to assemble the complex mixture of odors that only the fittest males can achieve it all.
This forms an unusual example of Zahavi's "mutilation principle", resembling a male peacock's tail.
Changes in aroma environment
Scientists will use single synthetic compounds as bait to attract and collect female threads for further research; these compounds include many human-friendly scents (eg: methyl salicylate, clove oil, eucalyptus oil, etc.) as well as some less popular scents (eg: amino acids). It is important to note that resource "hotspots" change throughout the year due to flowering and death of plants, which can affect border olfactory preferences. For example, studies of Euglossa imperialis showed that preferences for certain chemicals changed significantly over time, with a particular preference for eucalyptus oil over methyl salicylate toward the end of the year.
In addition, changes in wind direction are also an important factor, which may cause another aroma hotspot to be included in the bee's scent cloud.
Mating and pollination
Tropical orchids themselves often display complex adaptations that involve the precise placement of pollen packets on the bodies of male orchid bees to ensure that only cross-pollination occurs between orchids of the same species. Different orchid bees are differently attracted to different chemicals, which also allows for specific matings between different bees. In his early description of this pollination system, Darwin mistook these bees for females. However, not all orchids rely on orchid bees for pollination. There are other insects such as other bees, wasps, flies, ants and moths that can also pollinate.
Surprisingly, the male bees of Eufriesea purpurata are quite unique among insects in that they seek out and collect large quantities of pesticides. Dressler found these bees collecting abortus in 1967, and Roberts observed them collecting large amounts of DDT in 1982, and the bees were not even harmed by such activity.
The ecosystem of orchid bees is formed when male bees collect fragrance. This not only provides support for the reproduction of the bees themselves, but also plays an irreplaceable and important role in the pollination and reproduction of plants. In ecological balance, what impact might this seemingly small but crucial behavior have on environmental changes?
