Colour is one of the most obvious advertisements of flowers, and occurs in a huge diversity among the angiosperms. Flower colour is responsible for attraction from a distance, whereas contrasting colour patterns within flowers aid orientation of flower visitors after approaching the flowers. Due to the striking differences in colour vision systems and neural processing across animal taxa, flower colours evoke specific behavioural responses by different flower visitors. We tested whether and how yellow flowers differ in their spectral reflectance depending on the main pollinator. We focused on bees and birds and examined whether the presence or absence of the widespread UV reflectance pattern of yellow flowers predicts the main pollinator. Most bee-pollinated flowers displayed a pattern with UV-absorbing centres and UV-reflecting peripheries, whereas the majority of bird-pollinated flowers are entirely UV- absorbing. In choice experiments we found that bees did not show consistent preferences for any colour or pattern types. However, all tested bee species made their first antennal contact preferably at the UV-absorbing area of the artificial flower, irrespective of its spatial position within the flower. The appearance of UV patterns within flowers is the main difference in spectral reflectance between yellow bee- and bird-pollinated flowers, and affects the foraging behaviour of flower visitors. The results support the hypothesis that flower colours and the visual capabilities of their efficient pollinators are adapted to each other.
Tetrapedia diversipes Klug is herein reported for the first time to be the host of the cleptoparasite Coelioxoides waltheriae Ducke. Because these two genera had been previously recognized as sister taxa [A. Roig-Alsina. 1990. Coelioxoides Cresson, a parasitic genus of Tetrapediini (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 63: 279-287], the authors wished to learn to what extent biological information and immature stages reflected this relationship. Tetrapedia diversipes normally nests in holes in wood such as old beetle burrows, and it was induced to use trap nests for this study. Many aspects of the nesting behavior of females of this species are described, including the following: diurnal flight period; sleeping habits; nest structure; nest provisioning; egg placement; and sequence of nest construction, provisioning, and oviposition. Eggs produced by this species are categorized as ''giant'' (K. Iwata and S.F. Sakagami. 1966. Gigantism and dwarfism in bee eggs in relation to the mode of life, with notes on the number of ovarioles. Japanese Journal of Ecology 16: 4-16). Its first instar was discovered to be pharate within the chorion while the following four instars actively feed. Defecation starts early in the last larval stadium. Females use floral oils both in nest construction and in provisioning, and they carry pollen, oil, and soil with their scopae. The biology of T. diversipes was compared with that of other species in the genus and then compared with that of other apines that are known to nest in preformed cavities and that provision nests with pollen and floral oils. The host-nest searching behavior of Coelioxoides waltheriae is described. The cleptoparasite introduces its egg into the closed cell of the host shortly after cell closure. This egg is characterized as ''small'' (Iwata and Sakagami, ibid.) and has a very short incubation period. The highly modified first instar immediately feeds on the host egg and grows remarkably fast on the host yolk. This species has only four instars. Rates of development of the host and cleptoparasite are compared. Both have four ovarioles per ovary. Eggs, first instars, last larval instars, and pupae of host and cleptoparasite are taxonomically described and compared. In conclusion, the immatures of Coelioxoides and Tetrapedia are quite distinct from those of other known apids. While these two genera are probably sister genera based on the similarities identified by Roig-Alsina (op. cit.) and by this study, they are quite different from one another based on features of the eggs, first instars, and pupae. Recent issues of the Novitates may be purchased from the Museum. Lists of back issues of the Novitates and Bulletin published during the last five years are available at World
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.