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Habitats shape the cuticular chemical profiles of stingless bees

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Abstract

Stingless bees are highly social pollinators in tropical ecosystems. Besides floral pollen and nectar, they collect substantial amounts of plant resins, which are used for nest construction/maintenance and defence against antagonists. Moreover, some stingless bees extract chemical compounds from resins and incorporate them in their cuticular chemical profiles, rendering this trait directly dependent on the plant community of the surrounding environment. While previous studies have investigated how variation in the composition and diversity of available resin sources affect resin storages inside hives, subsequent effects on the bees’ cuticular chemistry have not been studied. To fill this gap, we investigated the number, proportion and composition of compounds in the cuticular chemical profile of an Australian stingless bee using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. We analysed whether and (if so) how the cuticular chemistry was affected by habitat (i.e., plantations, forests, and gardens) and tree species richness. We found that overall numbers and proportions of self-produced and resin-derived compounds in the cuticular chemical profiles of Tetragonula carbonaria were similar across habitats, while the composition of all compounds (i.e., both self-produced and resin-derived) and of resin-derived compounds differed between habitats. This indicates that the surrounding tree species community and thus available resin chemistry affected the composition of particularly resin-derived compounds on the bees’ cuticle. As the number and composition of resin-derived cuticular compounds were not affected by tree species richness, stingless bees appear to selectively incorporate specific compounds available in the surrounding environment in their cuticular chemical profiles, which may increase their defensive properties.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Tim Heard for providing the Tetragonula carbonaria colonies and Sahara Farms, Macadamia Farm Management Pty Ltd and Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens, as well as numerous private land and garden owners for hosting our colonies. We are further grateful for the constructive comments provided by two anonymous reviewers, which greatly helped in shaping the presentation of this study. BFK received funding from the German Academic Exchange Agency (DAAD). Funding was provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG project: LE 2750/1-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Genecology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health and Education, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, DC, 4558, Australia

    Wiebke Kämper & Helen Wallace

  2. Department of Zoology III, Würzburg University, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    Thomas Schmitt & Sara D. Leonhardt

  3. Department for Technological Analysis and Strategic Planning, Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis, Appelsgarten 2, 53879, Euskirchen, Germany

    Benjamin F. Kaluza

Authors
  1. Wiebke Kämper
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  2. Benjamin F. Kaluza
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  3. Helen Wallace
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  4. Thomas Schmitt
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  5. Sara D. Leonhardt
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Correspondence to Sara D. Leonhardt.

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Handling Editor: Gunther Raspotnig.

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Kämper, W., Kaluza, B.F., Wallace, H. et al. Habitats shape the cuticular chemical profiles of stingless bees. Chemoecology 29, 125–133 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-019-00282-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-019-00282-4

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