Host finding and recognition by specialised bees

寡聚蜜蜂只从少数相关的植物类群中收集花粉，并以此养育后代。这些花粉专家用来寻找和识别寄主植物的线索尚不清楚。本研究的目的是通过比较的方法来评估不同的寡聚蜜蜂是如何发现和识别它们的寄主植物的，这些蜜蜂都是专门研究钟属植物花粉的，与多聚蜜蜂相比，如果不同种类的钟属植物产生相同的化合物，这些化合物被寡聚分子用于识别花。此外，我们还将研究具有模仿钟花花的视觉线索的欺骗兰花Cephalanthera rubra是否也模仿钟花花的嗅觉线索或Chelostoma雌性的信息素，以吸引Chelostoma雄性进行授粉。我们将对不同种类的风铃属植物和红草属植物的花的颜色和气味进行表征，并确定它们在吸引少聚/多聚蜜蜂授粉中的作用。我们将进行电生理分析，以确定在花和雌性Chelostoma蜜蜂的复杂气味混合物中可能引发行为的化合物。花和蜜蜂的电生理活性化合物将通过化学分析来鉴定。最后，对寡聚/多聚蜜蜂的特定化合物的生物学作用将在行为实验中进行测试，在大型飞行笼中进行实验，实验条件与在野外发现的非常相似。

Oligolectic bees collect pollen, on which they rear their offspring, from only a few related plant taxa. The cues these pollen specialist use to find and recognize their host plants are not well understood. The aim of this study is to evaluate in a comparative approach how different oligolectic bees, that are all specialized on Campanula pollen, find and recognise their host plants in comparison to a polylectic bee, and if different species of Campanula produce the same compounds that are used by oligoleges for flower recognition. Additionally, we will investigate, if the deceptive orchid Cephalanthera rubra, that is known to mimic visual cues of Campanula flowers, also mimics olfactory cues of Campanula flowers or pheromones of Chelostoma females in order to attract Chelostoma males for pollination. We will characterize the floral colour and scents of different Campanula species and of Ch. rubra, and determine their role in attracting the oligolectic/polylectic bees for pollination. We will perform electrophysiological analyses to identify possible behavioural-triggering compounds in complex odour blends of flowers and female Chelostoma bees. Electrophysiologically active compounds of flowers and bees will be identified by chemical analyses. Finally, the biological role of specific compounds for the oligolectic/polylectic bees will be tested in behavioural experiments, in large flight cages, where experimental conditions are very similar to that found in the field.