Scent profiles of flower colour morphs of Corydalis cava (Fumariaceae) in relation to foraging behaviour of bumblebee queens (Bombus terrestris)
1994
Olesen, J.M. | Knudsen, J.T.
In general, pollinating insects are discriminatory to flower scent and colour. The perennial forest herb Corydalis cava (Fumariaceae) has either red-magenta or white-flowered individuals. We examined if the different flower colour morphs had different scent profile (headspace-technique, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry), and if pollinating bumblebees discriminated between colours. Twenty-seven compounds, including monoterpenes, benzenoids, phenylpropanoids and nitrogen-containing compounds were present in the scent samples. Scent profile varied a lot between individual plants regardless of flower colour. The foraging choice from red to either red or white was random. The foraging route, white-white, was, however, chosen much more frequently than one should expect by chance alone. However, number of flowers per inflorescence and fecundity did not differ between colour morphs.
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