Synthetic mixes of floral volatiles used as tools to guide honey bees to specific crops

FARINA WM; DÍAZ, PAULA; ARENAS, ANDRÉS

Colonia de Sacramento

Congreso; I Congreso de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Ecología Química; 2010

Honeybees Apis mellifera are important pollen vectors for many crop plants. In some crops, productivity is ensured only through the pollination service of this insect species. Beekeepers use to condition honeybee colonies by feeding them with syrups containing crushed flowers of the species that pretend to be pollinated. Despite the use of this procedure little is known about the process that guide bees to the flowers of crop plants or about the dynamic and extent to which floral scent contributes to pollinator attraction in agricultural settings. Recent studies show that insect pollinators need only a few volatile compounds to recognize a specific floral scent. Based on this idea, we developed synthetic mixes of volatile compounds that bees confound with the natural floral fragrances of some specific crop plants. Our hypothesis is that memories established by the offering of synthetic-mix odor within the colonies (i) are used to orientate pioneer foraging bees while search for food nearby the crop field; and (ii) facilitate the transference of crop-related information through recruiting mechanisms such as dances. As an example, we will show evidences at the levels of cognition, orientation and navigation that suggest a prompt foraging task in sunflower crops, a fact that opens the possibility for an improved efficiency in pollination and crop yield.   This study was supported by funds from CONICET, UBACYT and ANPCYT grants to WMF. Also a Guggenheim Fellowship supports WMF