Meeting Abstract

67-6   11:30 - 11:45  No trick anthers: possible manipulation of a pollen foraging behavior by plants. Mosher, AM*; Papaj, D; Buchmann, S; Eltz, D; Russell, A; Missouri State University; University of Arizona; University of Arizona; University of Bochum; Missouri State University Abilene703@live.missouristate.edu

Flowering plants?often?manipulate the foraging behavior of their pollinators?to exploit them.?Greater than 10% of flowering plants offer pollen, concealed within tube-like anthers, as the sole food reward to generalist bees. Extraction of this pollen requires that bees vigorously vibrate the anthers, a behavior termed floral buzzing. Because bees cannot detect concealed pollen, flowers might benefit by eliciting buzzing even when it does not benefit the bee. For example, by causing bees to pick up pollen by buzzing nearly depleted flowers that would otherwise be avoided, or by causing bees to spend time ineffectively buzzing and thus transferring pollen to depleted flowers. In this study we assessed how buzzing is elicited by Solanum houstonii, an andromonoecious plant possessing male and bisexual flowers, and which components of buzzing are potentially manipulated by the flower. Using crude solvent extracts, we found that chemical cues associated with the anthers (the male flower reproductive parts) mediated floral buzzing?by the generalist bee,?Bombus?impatiens. While the occurrence of floral buzzing was affected by the concentration of anther chemical cues, the intensity of buzzing measured in decibels was not. Finally, we found that anther chemical cues eliciting buzzing have low volatility. Altogether, our results suggest that flowers potentially manipulate a widespread bee pollen foraging behavior by producing anther chemical cues that are only detected at close range and that elicit buzzing regardless of pollen status. In ongoing work, we are?assessing the specific components of the crude solvent extract that elicit floral buzzing and whether these components commonly occur among flowering plant species.