Antennal responses of an oligolectic bee and its cleptoparasite to plant volatiles

Abstract

Cleptoparasitic or cuckoo bees lay their eggs in nests of other bees, and the parasitic larvae feed the food that had been provided for the host larvae. Nothing is known about the specific signals used by the cuckoo bees for host nest finding, but previous studies have shown that olfactory cues originating from the host bee alone, or the host bee and the larval provision are essential. Here, I compared by using gas chromatography coupled to electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) the antennal responses of the oligolectic oil-bee Macropis fulvipes and their cleptoparasite, Epeoloides coecutiens, to dynamic headspace scent samples of Lysimachia punctata, a pollen and oil host of Macropis. Both bee species respond to some scent compounds emitted by L. punctata, and two compounds, which were also found in scent samples collected from a Macropis nest entrance, elicited clear signals in the antennae of both species. These compounds may not only play a role for host plant detection by Macropis, but also for host nest detection by Epeoloides. I hypothesise that oligolectic bees and their cleptoparasites use the same compounds for host plant and host nest detection, respectively.