Impact of odorants on perception of sweetness by honey bees.

ABSTRACT: Organic volatiles produced by fruits can result in overestimation of sweetness by humans, but it is unknown if a comparable phenomenon occurs in other species. Honey bees collect nectar of varying sweetness at different flowering plants. Bees discriminate sugar concentration and generally prefer higher concentrations; they encounter floral volatiles as they collect nectar, suggesting that they, like humans, could be susceptible to sweetness enhancement by odorant. In this study, limonene, linalool, geraniol, and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol were tested for their ability to alter behaviors related to perception of sweetness by honey bees. Honey bees were tested in the laboratory using proboscis extension response-based assays and in the field using feeder-based assays. In the laboratory assays, 6

SUBMITTER: Pel AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10752549 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature