title: Floral nectar guide patterns discourage nectar robbing by bumble bees.
abstract: Floral displays are under selection to both attract pollinators and deter antagonists. Here we show that a common floral trait, a nectar guide pattern, alters the behavior of bees that can act opportunistically as both pollinators and as antagonists. Generally, bees access nectar via the floral limb, transporting pollen through contact with the plant's reproductive structures; however bees sometimes extract nectar from a hole in the side of the flower that they or other floral visitors create. This behavior is called "nectar robbing" because bees may acquire the nectar without transporting pollen. We asked whether the presence of a symmetric floral nectar guide pattern on artificial flowers affected bumble bees' (Bombus impatiens) propensity to rob or access nectar "legitimately." We discovered that nectar guides made legitimate visits more efficient for bees than robbing, and increased the relative frequency of legitimate visits, compared to flowers lacking nectar guides. This study is the first to show that beyond speeding nectar discovery, a nectar guide pattern can influence bees' flower handling in a way that could benefit the plant.
authors: Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, United States of America. anneleonard@unr.edu
authors: Anne S
authors: AS
authors: Leonard
authors: Joshua
authors: J
authors: Brent
authors: Daniel R
authors: DR
authors: Papaj
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Dornhaus
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D035264:Flowers; D007858:Learning; D057048:Plant Nectar; D054817:Pollination
chemical_list: D057048:Plant Nectar