Scientific projects

Host-plant recognition by oligolectic bees

Solitary bees collect pollen from flowers, mainly to provide their larvae with food. Oligolectic bees collect pollen from only a few closely-related plant species. Flowers attract pollinators using both olfactory and visuel cues. However, little is known how oligolectic bees can find and recognize their host-plants. To investigate the relative importance of floral cues for an oligolectic bee, we chose Osmia adunca (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) as a model - a species which is highly specialized on the flowers of Echium spp. (Boraginaceae). We hypothesized that floral scent plays a major role for the attraction of O. adunca females and that the bees use Echium-specific signals to recognize their host-plants. To test the hypotheses we used a combination of chemical (GC/GC-MS) and electrophysiological (GC-EAD) analyses, spectral measurements and bioassays.

Publications

Burger H, Ayasse M, Häberlein C, Schulz S, Dötterl S (2010). Echium-specific cues for host-plant recognition in the oligolectic bee Hoplitis adunca. S Afr J Bot, doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2010.08.003

Burger H, Dötterl S, Ayasse M (2010) Host plant finding and recognition by visual and olfactory floral cues in an oligolectic bee. Funct Ecol 24:1234–1240.

Burger H, Dötterl S, Ayasse M (2008) Importance of olfactory and visual cues of Echium for host-plant finding of the oligolectic bee Osmia adunca (Megachilidae). Mitt Dtsch Ges Allg Angew Ent 16: 163-166

Conference contributions

Burger H, Dötterl S, Galizia G, Ayasse M (2008) Wirtspflanzenerkennung oligolektischer Bienen. Hymenopterologen-Tagung, Stuttgart, Germany. 8

Burger H, Dötterl S, Ayasse M (2007) Wirtspflanzenerkennung bei der oligolektischen Biene Osmia adunca (Megachilidae). Poster presented at the Entomologentagung, Innsbruck, Austria

Burger H, Dötterl S, Schulz S, Ayasse M (2007) Host-plant recognition by the oligolectic bee Osmia adunca (Megachilidae). Talk presented at the Botanikertagung, Hamburg, Germany