Honey Bee Foraging Decisions Influenced by Pear Volatiles

Wenting Su, Weihua Ma, Qi Zhang, Xiao Hu, Guiling Ding, Yusuo Jiang and Jiaxing Huang
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Wenting Su: College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Weihua Ma: College of Horticulture, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China
Qi Zhang: College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Xiao Hu: Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
Guiling Ding: Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
Yusuo Jiang: College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Jiaxing Huang: Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100093, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: The interactions between plants and pollinators are complex. Flower volatiles as special olfactory cues could influence the foraging choices of pollinators. Here, we conducted bioassays to evaluate the role of flower volatiles on the attraction of honey bees (native Apis cerana and exotic Apis mellifera ) to pears (native Pyrus bretschneideri and exotic Pyrus communis ). Chemical and electrophysiological approaches were used to determine flower volatiles and evaluate the antennal responses of honey bees to volatiles from pear flowers. Bioassays demonstrated that flower volatiles were crucial for the attraction of honey bees to pear flowers; honey bees preferred to forage on P. communis flowers ( p > 0.05), with approximately 64.37 ± 0.02% ( A. mellifera ) and 62.10 ± 0.02% ( A. cerana ) foraging on P. communis . Flowers of P. communis and P. bretschneideri yielded 27 and 31 compounds, respectively, with 17 of them being common. Honey bee antennae responded to 16 chemicals, including 5 contained in both pear species: 1-nonanol, linalool, methyl 2-hydroxy-3-methylpentanoate, methyl L-isoleucinate, and α-farnesene. In addition, there were 8 electrophysiologically active compounds in P. bretschneideri : methyl L-valine ester, benzaldehyde, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, isophorone, 2-methyl octane, longicyclene, longifolene, and caryophyllene; and 3 electrophysiologically active compounds in P. communis : β-ocimene, 4-oxoisophorone and lilac alcohol D. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the significant impact of pear flower volatiles on honey bee foraging choices. This knowledge provides a basis for the selection of honey bees for pear pollination and lays a foundation for further study of the chemical communication of pear attractiveness to honey bees.

Keywords: pear; honey bee; foraging behavior; flower volatiles; GC–MS; GC–EAD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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