Author
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Pemberton, Robert |
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Submitted to: Orchids
Publication Type: Trade Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2007 Publication Date: 6/1/2007 Citation: Pemberton, R.W. 2007. An orchid bee naturalizes in Florida; implications for orchids and other plants . Orchids, 76: 446-448. Interpretive Summary: An orchid bee, Euglossa viridissima, from Mexico and Central America was detected in southern Florida in 2003 and now has become locally abundant. Orchid bees are important pollinators of diverse plants in their native tropical America which suggests that the naturalized orchid bee could become an important pollinator in Florida. The bee’s presence also provides an opportunity to investigate their interactions with orchids, including perfume orchids which the bees are known to visit, and non-perfume orchids not know to be visited. Perfume orchids, non-perfume orchids and other kinds of plants were exposed to E. viridissima in a Ft. Lauderdale garden where it is common. The bee’s visits to the flowers of these orchids and other plants were observed, photographed, and analyzed. The bee appears to be a pollinator of perfume orchids and non-perfume orchids with which it co-occurs in its native areas and other species of these types which it has never previously encountered in nature. While providing new information about the types of orchids that orchid bees can interact with, the bee’s pollination of orchids may cause unwanted fruit production and interfere with orchid breeding and orchid gardening because pollinated orchids soon wilt. Female orchid bees pollinated flowers of Dalechampia aristolochifolia while collecting the floral resin reward to use for construction of their brood cells. Female orchid bees also buzz pollinated the flowers of offered Solanum species, including weedy species. These results and the 100 plus plant species visited indicate that E. viridissima has or will develop a wide range of interactions with plants of many types (natives, ornamentals, and weeds), and will probably promote the abundance of some. Technical Abstract: An orchid bee, Euglossa viridissima, from Mexico and Central America was detected in southern Florida in 2003 and now has become locally abundant. Orchid bees are important pollinators of diverse plants in their native tropical America which suggests that the naturalized orchid bee could become an important pollinator in Florida. The bee’s presence also provides an opportunity to investigate their interactions with orchids, including perfume orchids which the bees are known to visit, and non-perfume orchids not know to be visited. Perfume orchids, non-perfume orchids and other kinds of plants were exposed to E. viridissima in a Ft. Lauderdale garden where it is common. The bee’s visits to the flowers of these orchids and other plants were observed, photographed, and analyzed. The bee appears to be a pollinator of perfume orchids and non-perfume orchids with which it co-occurs in its native areas and other species of these types which it has never previously encountered in nature. While providing new information about the types of orchids that orchid bees can interact with, the bee’s pollination of orchids may cause unwanted fruit production and interfere with orchid breeding and orchid gardening because pollinated orchids soon wilt. Female orchid bees pollinated flowers of Dalechampia aristolochifolia while collecting the floral resin reward to use for construction of their brood cells. Female orchid bees also buzz pollinated the flowers of offered Solanum species, including weedy species. These results and the 100 plus plant species visited indicate that E. viridissima has or will develop a wide range of interactions with plants of many types (natives, ornamentals, and weeds), and will probably promote the abundance of some. |
