Chemical profiles of body surfaces and nests from six Bornean stingless bee species

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are the most diverse group of Apid bees and represent common pollinators in tropical ecosystems. Like honeybees they live in large eusocial colonies and rely on complex chemical recognition and communication systems. In contrast to honeybees, their ecology and especially their chemical ecology have received only little attention, particularly in the Old World. We previously have analyzed the chemical profiles of six paleotropical stingless bee species from Borneo and revealed the presence of species-specific cuticular terpenes- an environmentally derived compound class so far unique among social insects. Here, we compared the bees' surface profiles to the chemistry of their nest material. Terpenes, alkanes, and alkenes were the dominant compound groups on both body surfaces and nest material. However, bee profiles and nests strongly differed in their chemical composition. Body surfaces thus did not merely mirror nests, rendering a passive compound transfer from nests to bees unlikely. The difference between nests and bees was particularly pronounced when all resin-derived compounds (terpenes) were excluded and only genetically determined compounds were considered. When terpenes were included, bee profiles and nest material still differed, because whole groups of terpenes (e.g., sesquiterpenes) were found in nest material of some species, but missing in their chemical profile, indicating that bees are able to influence the terpene composition both in their nests and on their surfaces.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftJournal of Chemical Ecology
Jahrgang37
Ausgabenummer1
Seiten (von - bis)98-104
Anzahl der Seiten7
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.01.2011

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. Diversität von Lebenswelten und Lebenssituationen und ihre Bedeutung für die pädagogische Arbeit
  2. Die Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus
  3. Soziologische Forschung zu den gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen an Museen
  4. Economie considerations regarding the mandatory insolvency petition under german law
  5. Sustainable Creative Cities: the role of the arts in globalised urban contexts
  6. Präattentive Bewertungsprozesse bei der Wahrnehmung von Bildern
  7. Women's agency and resistance in Russia's war on Ukraine: From victim of the war to prominent force
  8. Bankaufsichtsrechtliche Anerkennung interner Kreditportfoliomodelle
  9. Stichtagsprinzip und Ereignisse nach dem Bilanzstichtag im Handels- und Steuerrecht sowie nach IFRS
  10. Economic evaluation of water supply systems operated with solar-driven electro-chlorination in rural regions in Nepal, Egypt and Tanzania
  11. Karl Mays 'Winnetou'
  12. Scientific consensus on sustainability
  13. Bildungskapital und berufliche Position
  14. Menschliche Würde in der Lebensphase natürlicher Abhängigkeit - Jugendpsychiatrische und sozialpädaogische Aspekte
  15. Dominik Perler, Transformationen der Gefühle. Philosophische Emotionstheorien 1270-1670
  16. Unternehmerisches Biodiversitätsmanagement - Sicherung der Vielfalt und des wirtschaftlichen Erfolgs
  17. Freie Berufe – Hat die Ungleichheit und Polarisierung von Einkommen und Zeit zugenommen?
  18. Zeit- und Einkommensarmut von Freien Berufen und Unternehmern
  19. Joan kristin Bleicher / Bernhard Pörksen: Grenzgänger: Formen des New Journalism, Wiesbaden VS, 2004 - 443 Seiten, ISBN 3--531-14096-5
  20. § 29 Windenergie