Eltz Thomas, Zimmermann Yvonne, Haftmann Jenny, Twele Robert, Francke Wittko, Quezada-Euan J Javier G, Lunau Klaus
Department of Neurobiology, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany.
Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Nov 22;274(1627):2843-8. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0727.
Enfleurage, the extraction of elusive floral scents with the help of a lipophilic carrier (grease), is widely used in the perfume industry. Male neotropical orchid bees (Euglossini), which accumulate exogenous fragrances as pheromone analogues, use a similar technique. To collect fragrances, the bees apply large amounts of straight-chain lipids to odoriferous surfaces from their cephalic labial glands, which dissolve the volatiles, and the mixture is then transferred to voluminous hind-leg pockets. Here, we show that males do in fact operate a lipid conveyor belt to accumulate and concentrate their perfume. From the hind-leg pockets of caged male Euglossa viridissima, deuterated derivatives of carrier lipids were consecutively sequestered, shuttled back to the labial glands and reused on consecutive bouts of fragrance collection. Such lipid cycling is instrumental in creating complex perfume bouquets. Furthermore, we found that labial glands of male orchid bees are strikingly similar to those of scent-marking male bumblebees in terms of size, form and structure. This, and a prominent overlap in secretory products, led us to propose that perfume collection evolved from scent-marking in ancestral corbiculate bees.
冷吸法，即在亲脂性载体（油脂）的帮助下提取难以捉摸的花香，在香水行业中被广泛使用。新热带地区的雄性兰花蜂（Euglossini）会积累外源性香料作为信息素类似物，它们采用了类似的技术。为了收集香料，蜜蜂会从其头部唇腺向有气味的表面涂抹大量直链脂质，这些脂质会溶解挥发物，然后混合物被转移到体积较大的后腿袋中。在这里，我们表明雄性兰花蜂实际上运行着一条脂质输送带，用于积累和浓缩它们的香水。从圈养的雄性绿带尤金蜂的后腿袋中，载体脂质的氘代衍生物被连续隔离，运回唇腺，并在连续的香料收集过程中重复使用。这种脂质循环有助于创造复杂的香水组合。此外，我们发现雄性兰花蜂的唇腺在大小、形状和结构方面与进行气味标记的雄性大黄蜂的唇腺惊人地相似。这一点，以及分泌产物的显著重叠，使我们提出香水收集行为是从祖先群居蜜蜂的气味标记行为进化而来的。
