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Abstract

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) use odors to identify and discriminate among flowers during foraging. This series of experiments examined the ability of bees to detect and discriminate among the floral odors of different varieties of two species of canola (Brassica rapa and Brassica napus) and also among three varieties of snapdragons (Antirhinnum majus). Individual worker honeybees were trained using a proboscis extension assay. The ability of bees to distinguish a floral odor from an air stimulus during training increased as the number of flowers used during training increased. Bees conditioned to the odor of one variety of flower were asked to discriminate it from the odors of other flowers in two different training assays. Bees were unable to discriminate among flowers at the level of variety in a randomized presentation of a reinforced floral odor and an unreinforced floral odor. In the second type of assay, bees were trained with one floral variety for 40 trials without reinforcement and then tested with the same variety or with other varieties and species. If a bee had been trained with a variety of canola, it was unable to differentiate the odor of one canola flower from the odor of other canola flowers, but it could differentiate canola from the odor of a snapdragon flower. Bees trained with the odor of snapdragon flowers readily differentiated the odor of one variety of a snapdragon from the odor of other varieties of snapdragons and also canola flowers. Our study suggests that both intensity and odor quality affect the ability of honeybees to differentiate among floral perfumes.

Efficacité pollinisatrice de <i>Apis mellifera</i> L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) sur <i>Sesamum indicum</i> (Pedaliaceae) var. Graine Blanche et Lisse à Dang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroun)

“…Les perturbations de visites dues à la faune avaient pour conséquence la réduction de la durée de certaines visites de A. mellifera sur les fleurs de S. indicum; ceci obligeait certaines butineuses à visiter un plus grand nombre de fleurs lors d'un voyage de butinage, afin d'obtenir leur charge de pollen ou de nectar, comme l'ont signalé Tchuenguem et al (2007) (Wright et al, 2002). En tant que plante apicole fortement nectarifère et faiblement pollinifère, la Pedaliaceae S. indicum peut être cultivée dans l'Adamaoua Camerounais pour accroître la production du miel et contribuer à la stabilisation des colonies de Apis mellifera pendant la saison pluvieuse.…”

Chemistry of floral scents in four Licuala species (Arecaceae)

“…They have also been found in many bee-pollinated (or bee-visited) plants, e.g. canola (Brassica rapa and B. napus), 45 snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), 45,46 orchids (Catasetum spp., 18,47 Ophrys spp., 48 Cypripedium calceolus and Stanhopea spp. ), 21,49 Solanaceae (Cyphomandra spp.…”

Detailed characterization of local field potential oscillations and their relationship to spike timing in the antennal lobe of the moth Manduca sexta

“…Several aspects of these physiological responses have been correlated with an animal’s ability to discriminate between even subtly different odorant stimuli in behavioral assays (Stopfer et al, 1997; Daly et al, 2001; Linster et al, 2001; Wright et al, 2002; Galán et al, 2004). For example, odor can drive local field potential oscillations (LFPOs) at species-specific frequencies (Gelperin and Tank, 1990; Heinbockel et al, 1998).…”