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Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

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Published on: December 12, 2012

Intensity and the ratios of compounds in the scent of snapdragon flowers affect scent discrimination by honeybees

Geraldine A Wright¹, Amy Lutmerding, Natalia Dudareva

¹Department Entomology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. wright.571@osu.edu

Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology

|February 16, 2005

Summary

Honeybees use floral scent intensity and compound ratios to differentiate flowers. Even subtle scent differences, influenced by volatile compounds, are detectable by bees during foraging.

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Area of Science:

Plant Science
Chemical Ecology
Animal Behavior

Background:

Floral scent is crucial for pollinators like honeybees to identify and discriminate flowers.
Scent discrimination may rely on volatile compound concentrations and ratios, not just presence.
Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) offer a model system with complex scent profiles.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate honeybee discrimination of snapdragon floral scents.
To determine if scent intensity and volatile compound ratios influence discrimination.
To test if honeybees utilize the full volatile blend for scent differentiation.

Main Methods:

Four snapdragon cultivars with distinct scent profiles were analyzed.
Gas chromatography and canonical discriminant analysis classified scent compositions.
Honeybee olfactory discrimination assays were conducted.

Main Results:

Snapdragon cultivars were reliably distinguished by their scent profiles.
Honeybees could not differentiate scents from the same cultivar.
Discrimination ability correlated with scent intensity and the 'distance' between scent profiles.
Honeybees demonstrated capability in discriminating subtle scent differences.

Conclusions:

Honeybee scent discrimination is influenced by floral scent intensity and the relative concentrations of volatile compounds.
Honeybees can perceive and utilize the entire blend of floral volatiles to distinguish between subtle scent variations.
This highlights the complexity of olfactory communication in plant-pollinator interactions.