A female green orchid bee (Euglossa viridissima) gathers floral resins from a Clusia lanceolata plant to use in brood cell construction.

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A female green orchid bee (Euglossa viridissima) gathers floral resins from a Clusia lanceolata plant to use in brood cell construction. A resin mass is visible on the hind leg. Almost 200 species of orchid bees are the exclusive pollinators of orchids in the neotropics. The orchids produce species-specific blends of fragrances, which male orchid bees collect and use during courtship, pollinating the orchids during the collection. These orchids are absent in Florida, where the green orchid bee has recently naturalized. Chemical analysis from storage organs in make green orchid bees has identified over 50 fragrance compounds, including 27 known to occur in orchid species pollinated by the green orchid bee in Mesoamerica. Aromatic leaves, such as basil, were found to be important surrogate sources for the necessary compounds. These findings suggest that the mutualism, which is known to be obligatory for the orchids, is facultative for some orchid bee species. This photograph originally appeared on the cover of Ecology (87:8) in August of 2006.

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Primary or BEN resource type	Photograph
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Format	jpeg
Ecological Core Concept	Interspecific interactions -- Mutualism, symbiosis, and commensalism Interspecific interactions Individuals -- Behavior Individuals
Drought & Water-Ecosystem Services Collection	Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection	Off
Big Data Collection	Off
Editor's Choice	No
Audience	Undergraduate upper division 15-16 Undergraduate lower division 13-14
Pedagogical Use Description	This photograph could be used to illustrate mutualism, the difference between facultative and obligate mutualisms, or pollination.
Keywords	mutualism, obligatory, facultative, pollination, courtship, resin
Key taxa	green orchid bee, Euglossa viridissima, Clusia lanceolata
Life science discipline (subject)	Ecology
Primary Author Controlled Name	R.W. Pemberton
Primary Author Affiliation	Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Primary Author email	bobpem@ars.usda.gov
Rights	Copyright 2006 by the Ecological Society of America.
Resource Editor	Unknown
Reviewer A	Unknown
Reviewer B	Unknown
Date Of Record Submission	2008-04-07

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