Do Distinct Biomes Influence the Cuticular Chemical Profile in Orchid Bees?
Cuticular chemical profiles of Euglossa cordata L. males were analyzed to test whether ecological predictors affect their composition and relative proportion. Males were collected in areas of Caatinga and Atlantic Forest from Brazil during two distinct seasonal periods. We found 48 compounds from the cuticular extracts of males, which consisted of hydrocarbons (71.39%), acetates (16.79%), esters (10.5%), alcohols and others (1.31%). We verified that when specimens were separated between biomes, they did not show a qualitative differentiation, but a small quantitative variation of compounds was found between some alkanes. We suggest that these results reflect stability of epicuticular compounds even under variable environmental conditions.
Laboratório de Comportamento e Ecologia de Insetos Sociais, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, CEP 14040-901, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (alineborba.s@hotmail.com; fsnascim@usp.br).
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Laboratório de Comportamento e Ecologia de Insetos Sociais, Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), Universidade de São Paulo. Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, CEP 14040-901, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil (alineborba.s@hotmail.com; fsnascim@usp.br).
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D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000378:metabolism*; D001938:Brazil; D017753:Ecosystem; D065928:Forests; D065948:Grassland; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male
D006838:Hydrocarbons
Euglossa cordata; chemical profile; cuticular hydrocarbon