Labellar Structure of the Maxillaria splendens Alliance (Orchidaceae: Maxillariinae) Indicates Floral Polyphenols as a Reward for Stingless Bees

Several studies have reported stingless Meliponini bees gathering hairs from the labella of spp., including , a member of the alliance. Such hairs usually contain food materials and are thought to have nutritional value. The papillose labella of representatives of the alliance, however, bear scatter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2023-02, Vol.12 (4), p.921
Main Authors: Davies, Kevin L, Pansarin, Emerson R, Stpiczyńska, Małgorzata
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
fluorescence microscopy
Food
food-hair
food-reward
Fragrances
histochemistry
Histology
labellum
light microscopy
Lipids
Maxillaria
Microscopy
Nutritive value
Papillae
Plant reproduction
Polyphenols
Proteins
Resins
Trichomes
Volatile compounds
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Summary:Several studies have reported stingless Meliponini bees gathering hairs from the labella of spp., including , a member of the alliance. Such hairs usually contain food materials and are thought to have nutritional value. The papillose labella of representatives of the alliance, however, bear scattered, simple 1-5-celled uniseriate trichomes (hairs) that lack food materials. By contrast, here, as well as polyphenolic compounds, typical labellar papillae usually contain small quantities of starch, protein, and minute droplets of lipid, the last probably involved in the production of fragrance. Towards the labellum apex occur elevated groups of papillae that lack food materials, but contain volatile compounds, probably fragrance precursors. In the past, the terms 'trichomes' or 'hairs' and 'papillae' have been used interchangeably, causing some confusion. Since the trichomes, however, unlike the papillae, are easily detachable and can fragment, it is most likely they, not the papillae, that have previously been observed being collected by bees, but their poor food content indicates that they do not function as food-hairs. Even so, our field observations of reveal that stingless bees scrape polyphenol-rich labellar tissue and possibly use this material to produce a resinous, complex, heterogeneous substance commonly referred to as 'bee glue', used for nest construction and repair.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants12040921