Facultative use of the repellent scent mark in foraging bumblebees: complex versus simple flowers

Saleh, Nehal; Ohashi, Kazuharu; Thomson, James D.; Chittka, Lars

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.06.014

Cited by 61 publications

(38 citation statements)

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“…Given a reward context that imitates the natural situation (small rewards, no immediate refills) the trace of a previous visit acts as a repellent to inhibit further visits, which is in broad agreement with field studies (Goulson et al, 2000;Stout et al, 1998;Gawleta et al, 2005). The importance of context on the interpretation of scent-marks is also reflected by another recent laboratory study (Saleh et al, 2006). When trained bumblebees were presented with two types of artificial flowers that varied in the time required for handling, the rates of rejection were higher in the type that required longer and therefore offered lower net benefit.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…When trained bumblebees were presented with two types of artificial flowers that varied in the time required for handling, the rates of rejection were higher in the type that required longer and therefore offered lower net benefit. This suggests that bumblebees can gradually adjust their choice depending on the expected amount of reward within a certain reward context (Saleh et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

Witjes

Eltz

2006

Apidologie

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-Foraging bumblebees leave chemical substances when visiting flowers and the detection of these "scent marks" improves their foraging efficiency. Whereas laboratory studies found that scent-marks convey attraction to food sources, all field studies found foragers to be repelled by recently visited flowers. In this study we aim to resolve this conflict by implementing near-natural reward dynamics in a laboratory feeder array. When feeders were filled with small, non-replenished amounts of reward, worker bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) avoided revisiting the depleted feeders. As evidenced by a "corolla" replacement experiment, feeder discrimination was based on the perception of chemical cues deposited during previous visits. Pentane extracts of bumblebee tarsi acted as a repellent when applied to glass corollas, whereas pure pentane did not. We suggest that scent-marks are simple cues inherent to footprints and emphasize the importance of context to how these cues are interpreted by foraging bees.flower discrimination / repellent scent marks / chemical cue / signal / bumble bees / Bombus

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

Witjes

Eltz

2006

Apidologie

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“…Sensory flexibility, rather than the exception, may prove to be the rule for opportunistic, generalist flower-feeding animals, especially when foraging under different photic conditions or when preferred colors or odors are not available. Recent studies indicate considerable flexibility in the sensory information used by glossophagine bats (von Helversen et al, 2000;von Helversen et al, 2003;Winter et al, 2003) and bumblebees (Saleh et al, 2006) in nectar foraging behavior. Thus, in behavioral studies it may be more fruitful to address sensory systems as interacting sub-systems whose properties contribute to an animal's functional relationship with its environment, rather than as isolated components of their perceptual apparatus.…”

Section: Choosing Between Olfactory and Visual Signals Of A Flowermentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of decoupling olfactory and visual stimuli on the foraging behavior ofManduca sexta

Goyret

Markwell

Raguso

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

123

127

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SUMMARY Within an appetitive context, Manduca sexta, a nectivorous nocturnal hawkmoth, can be attracted by a range of stimuli including floral volatiles and visual display, carbon dioxide and water vapor. Several studies on this and other flower-visiting insects have shown how olfactory and visual stimulation play (or do not play) a role in attraction and feeding. Nevertheless, these studies have consistently manipulated stimuli in a`presence–absence' manner. Here, we experimentally decoupled the presentation of both stimuli spatially and temporally in a wind tunnel, rather than entirely eliminating either one, and found that the decision-making process based on these stimuli is more flexible and complex than previously asserted. Manduca sexta was most responsive when both cues were present and emanated from the same source. When stimuli were spatially separated, responsiveness levels were comparable to those elicited by a single stimulus. However, transient olfactory stimulation either before or after visually guided approach (temporal decoupling) enhanced responsiveness to an odorless visual target. Additionally, searching times were increased by either a transient olfactory stimulation before take-off or by having the flower model spatially separated from the odor source tracked by the moths. Finally,in a dual-choice experiment, moths showed a strong bias for the visual display over the odor plume, suggesting the former to be the ultimate indicator of a nectar source. Our manipulation of floral cues shows that the feeding behavior of M. sexta, and probably of other nectivorous insects, is based not only on the sensory stimulation per se but also on the temporal and spatial pattern in which these stimuli are perceived.

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“…In principle, if newly opened, unvisited flowers emit elevated CO 2 , nectivorous insects could use such information to find the most profitable flowers or patches thereof (26). If floral CO 2 levels were ephemeral, insects might use them as more ''honest'' indicators of nectar availability in real time than floral color or scent (2), in much the same way that tarsal secretions are used as flower-marking cues by foraging bees (27,28). Given that CO 2 is a component of ambient air in plant communities, flowers would need to emit amounts that could be detected by the insect with a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Context- and scale-dependent effects of floral CO ₂ on nectar foraging by Manduca sexta

Goyret

Markwell²,

Raguso³

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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fragrance ͉ odor ͉ olfaction ͉ pollination ͉ Sphingidae A nthophilous insects use information from a variety of sensory channels to locate flowers and feed from them (1). Thus, a crucial task for studying insect-plant interactions is to identify which components of the environment provide the sensory inputs used by insects, and to what extent context and scale affect their information content (2). Whereas flower colors and patterns (3, 4), whole-flower and nectar odors (5), and even corolla shape and texture are known features used by foraging insects and other nectivorous animals (6, 7), few studies have explicitly addressed the role of flower respiratory carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as a stimulus involved in plant-pollinator interactions.Our knowledge of how insects use CO 2 as a sensory cue is derived primarily from studies of insects that vector diseases or attack crop plants. For example, many haematophagous insects use CO 2 to locate their animal hosts from a distance (8). Discontinuous CO 2 plumes modulate host-seeking behavior by mosquitoes (9, 10), suggesting that CO 2 acts as a long-range orientation stimulus (11). Tsetse flies and biting midges also use CO 2 as a long-range attractant that can synergize the attractiveness of other host odors (12, 13). However, CO 2 also functions as a close-range feeding stimulus (on the host's skin) for mosquitoes (8). CO 2 synergizes the attractiveness of some human skin odors to female yellow fever mosquitoes (14) and has been suggested to synergize triatomine bug responses to L(ϩ)-lactic acid (15).Some herbivorous insects show similar responses to CO 2 , although typically at closer range to its source than haematophagous insects. CO 2 alone is sufficient to guide Diabrotica virgifera beetle larvae toward corn roots (16), and larvae of noctuid (Helicoverpa armigera) (17) and pyralid (Elasmopalpus lignosellus) (18) moths orient to above-ambient CO 2 sources. Females of the pyralid moth Cactoblastis cactorum search for CO 2 sinks on photosynthetic stem surfaces of Opuntia stricta, as indicators of high carbon fixation activity (19). In this case, CO 2 gradients are used as close-range stimuli, as is true for tephritid flies that oviposit on fruit wounds, which provide a localized source of CO 2 and other olfactory oviposition stimulants (20). Finally, responses to CO 2 may be context-dependent. Tephritid flies respond to CO 2 when presented with a fruit-like visual stimulus (20). Within a certain concentration range, Drosophila melanogaster adults and larvae are repelled by CO 2 , and it has been suggested that these responses depend on the olfactory context (21).It is clear from the studies reviewed above that CO 2 may function alone or in concert with host odors, at a distance or at close range, via several behavioral mechanisms. Recent studies suggest that CO 2 may also contribute to the interactions between flowers and insect pollinators. Floral CO 2 is primarily associated with elevated respiratory activity in thermogenic flowers, including deceptive flowers that mim...

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Facultative use of the repellent scent mark in foraging bumblebees: complex versus simple flowers

Cited by 61 publications

References 38 publications

Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

The effect of decoupling olfactory and visual stimuli on the foraging behavior ofManduca sexta

Context- and scale-dependent effects of floral CO ₂ on nectar foraging by Manduca sexta

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Facultative use of the repellent scent mark in foraging bumblebees: complex versus simple flowers

Cited by 61 publications

References 38 publications

Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

Influence of scent deposits on flower choice: experiments in an artificial flower array with bumblebees

The effect of decoupling olfactory and visual stimuli on the foraging behavior ofManduca sexta

Context- and scale-dependent effects of floral CO 2 on nectar foraging by Manduca sexta

Contact Info

Product

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Context- and scale-dependent effects of floral CO ₂ on nectar foraging by Manduca sexta