Abstract
Neotropical orchid bees (Euglossini) are often cited as classic examples of trapline-foragers with potentially extensive foraging ranges. If long-distance movements are habitual, rare plants in widely scattered locations may benefit from euglossine pollination services. Here we report the first successful use of micro radio telemetry to track the movement of an insect pollinator in a complex and forested environment. Our results indicate that individual male orchid bees (Exaerete frontalis) habitually use large rainforest areas (at least 42–115 ha) on a daily basis. Aerial telemetry located individuals up to 5 km away from their core areas, and bees were often stationary, for variable periods, between flights to successive localities. These data suggest a higher degree of site fidelity than what may be expected in a free living male bee, and has implications for our understanding of biological activity patterns and the evolution of forest pollinators.
Highlights
The majority of flowering plants rely on animals to move their pollen between individuals
We found evidence that orchid bees may trapline floral resources, as previously thought, because individual bees visited specific sites on successive days
This is far from definitive evidence for traplining, but it shows the potential for radio-telemetry as a methodology to collect the data necessary to discriminate among alternative explanations
Summary
The majority of flowering plants rely on animals to move their pollen between individuals. Bees are arguably the most important and ubiquitous [1,2,3]. The natural movement patterns of bees have proven challenging to deduce, but their correct elucidation may permit us to make testable predictions concerning mutualisms, bee biology and parasitism, and the remarkably rapid radiation of angiosperms. Given the escalating rate of human interference, and the potential for deterioration of pollination services [4,5], it is critical that we start to understand the complexities of these relationships. Bee flight range has been estimated primarily from feeder training and homing experiments or mass marking [5,6,7,8], it is not known how well these reflect natural movements of bees, especially in tropical forests [but see 9,10]. Until recently [11], the only accurate and repeated studies of bee foraging activities involved social or communal bees, which demonstrate a bell-shaped space-use curve, centred on their nest [12,13]
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