Flower scent of floral oil-producing Lysimachia punctata as attractant for the oil-bee Macropis fulvipes

J Chem Ecol. 2007 Feb;33(2):441-5. doi: 10.1007/s10886-006-9237-2. Epub 2006 Dec 7.

Abstract

Most flowers offer nectar and/or pollen as a reward for pollinators. However, some plants are known to produce mostly fatty oil in the flowers, instead of nectar. This oil is exclusively collected by specialized oil-bees, the pollinators of the oil-plants. Little is known about chemical communication in this pollination system, especially how the bees find their hosts. We collected the floral and vegetative scent emitted by oil-producing Lysimachia punctata by dynamic headspace, and identified the compounds by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Thirty-six compounds were detected in the scent samples, several of which were flower-specific. Pentane extracts of flowers and floral oil were tested on Macropis fulvipes in a biotest. Flower and oil extracts attracted the bees, and some of the compounds identified are seldom found in the floral scent of other plants; these may have been responsible for the attraction of the bees.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bees / physiology*
  • Biological Assay
  • Female
  • Flowers / physiology*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Odorants*
  • Plant Oils / chemistry*
  • Primulaceae / physiology*

Substances

  • Plant Oils