Those charismatic and utterly spectacular orchid bees will take center stage in a virtual presentation on Wednesday, Feb. 10, as part of the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day/Month program.

Postdoctoral researcher Nick Saleh of the Santiago Ramirez lab, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology, will present a live talk, coupled with a question-and-answer session,  on "All About Social Behavior in Bees (Especially Orchid Bees)" from 2 to 3 p.m. on Zoom. Access the Zoom link here.

The event is free and geared for families, said spokesperson Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology. 

1. There are around 200 species of orchid bees.
2. Orchid bee males make species-specific perfumes from fragrances collected from a variety of sources (including, but not limited to orchids).
3. Orchid bees are hugely important pollinators in the neotropical region.
4. Orchid bees are corbiculate bees, the group which also contains honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees.
5. Orchid bees have typically been considered solitary bees, but we now know they can have a diversity of simple social behaviors.

"I am broadly interested in the mechanistic basis of behavioral evolution in animals, especially insects, in the context of social and sexual communication," Saleh says on his website. "Much of my research has investigated the evolution of social behavior in orchid bees, using them as a model system to examine transitions from solitary to social life-histories. I take an integrative approach to research, utilizing behavioral, transcriptomic, genomic, and chemical data to understand how socially sensitive physiology and communication systems evolve and function."

Orchid bees, distributed throughout South and Central America, are easily distinguished by their brilliant metallic coloration, primarily green, gold and blue. 

“Euglossine--or orchid--bees constitute a diverse group of conspicuous insect pollinators from tropical America,”  Santiago told the crowd at the 2018 UC Davis Bee Symposium in his talk, The Evolution and Chemical Ecology of Orchid Bees. "Male euglossine bees do not produce their own pheromones, but instead gather and accumulate perfume compounds from orchid flowers, fungi, and other resources, to subsequently present to females during courtship display.” Santiago was named a Chancellor's Fellow in January 2020, a five-year fellowship award. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum program is all virtual this year via webinars and pre-recorded presentations, and takes place throughout the month of February. The science-based event traditionally occurs on only one day--the Saturday of Presidents' Weekend, when families and friends gather on campus to learn first-hand about the UC Davis museums and collections. 

This year's biodiversity event is featuring 12 museums or collections:

• Anthropology Museum
• Arboretum and Public Garden
• Bohart Museum of Entomology
• Botanical Conservatory
• California Raptor Center
• Center for Plant Diversity
• Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
• Nematode Collection
• Marine Invertebrate Collection 
• Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
• Paleontology Collection
• Phaff Yeast Culture Collection

For more information and the schedule, access these two formats on the UC Davis Biodiversity program website: (1) live talks and demonstrations and (2) pre-recorded talks and activities. Information on the biodiversity museum events also appear on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, @BioDivDay. 

To help support the Biodiversity Museum event, contributions are being accepted through a month-long crowdfunding campaign program at https://crowdfund.ucdavis.edu/project/24310. 

Resource:

"Can Scents Create New Species? Sounds Like Orchid Bee Evolution" (Feature story on research of Santiago Ramirez on the College of Biological Sciences website, Jan. 13, 2020)

Have you ever marveled at those amazing male orchid bees, which gather perfume compounds to attract females?

Distributed throughout South and Central America, orchid bees are easily distinguished by their brilliant metallic coloration, primarily green, gold and blue, says researcher Santiago Ramirez, an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology.

He'll discuss "The Evolution and Chemical Ecology of Orchid Bees" at the fourth annual UC Davis Bee Symposium: Keeping Bees Healthy on Saturday, March 3 in the UC Davis Conference Center. His talk begins at 10:15 a.m.

“Insects rely more on chemical signals than on any other sensory modality to find, identify, and choose mates,” Ramirez points out. “Euglossine--or orchid--bees constitute a diverse group of conspicuous insect pollinators from tropical America. Male euglossine bees do not produce their own pheromones, but instead gather and accumulate perfume compounds from orchid flowers, fungi, and other resources, to subsequently present to females during courtship display.”

"They are extremely charismatic organisms," he says.

"Male-gathered perfumes are stereotyped, species-specific, and divergent among closely related taxa, suggesting that they play a key role in maintaining, and possibly originating, reproductive isolation among lineages."

Ramirez says that “Most insects rely on chemical signals (semiochemicals) to gain precise information on the location, identity, and quality of potential mates. Despite the ubiquity and importance of semiochemicals across the insect phylogeny, the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms that control signal chemistry and signal detection remain poorly understood. Moreover, whether insect sex semiochemicals mediate reproductive isolation, speciation, and lineage diversification remains surprisingly unexplored given the vast diversity and ecological dominance of insects on Earth.”

His research involves integrating diverse techniques from multiple disciplines, including behavioral ecology, chemical ecology, population genetics, functional genomics, and neuroethology “to answer specific questions about the genetic basis, function, and evolution of chemosensory communication in arguably one of the most important groups of insect pollinators in the American tropics.”

Ramirez received his bachelor's degree in biology, with honors, from the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) in 2001, and his doctorate in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 2008. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley from 2008 to 2012 before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2013.

The symposium is sponsored by the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science, and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Keynote speaker at the symposium is noted bee scientist/professor/author Tom Seeley of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., who will speak on "Darwinian Beekeeping."

The daylong event "is designed for beekeepers of all experience levels, including gardeners, farmers and anyone interested in the world of pollination and bees," said Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center. "In addition to our speakers, there will be lobby displays featuring graduate student research posters, the latest in beekeeping equipment, books, honey, plants, and much more."

To register, access the Honey and Pollination Center website. For more information, contact Amina Harris at aharris@ucdavis.edu or Liz Luu at luu@caes.ucdavis.edu.

In the human world, women may splash themselves with perfume to attract men, but did you know that in the orchid bee world, males gather perfume compounds to attract females?

Heaven scent?

Orchid bee researcher Santiago Ramirez, an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology, will discuss his work on Sunday, May 7 at the third annual UC Davis Bee Symposium in the UC Davis Conference Center on Alumni Drive. He'll speak at 10:45 a.m. on “The Evolution and Chemical Ecology of Orchid Bees.” 

The all-day symposium, sponsored by the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, begins at 9 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast.  Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center, and Neal Williams, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will welcome the crowd. Registration for the  event continues today through Wednesday, May 3.

Orchid bees, distributed throughout South and Central America, are easily distinguished by their brilliant metallic coloration, primarily green, gold and blue.

“Insects rely more on chemical signals than on any other sensory modality to find, identify, and choose mates,” Ramirez points out. “Euglossine--or orchid--bees constitute a diverse group of conspicuous insect pollinators from tropical America. Male euglossine bees do not produce their own pheromones, but instead gather and accumulate perfume compounds from orchid flowers, fungi, and other resources, to subsequently present to females during courtship display.”

“Male-gathered perfumes,” he says, “are stereotyped, species-specific, and divergent among closely related taxa, suggesting that they play a key role in maintaining, and possibly originating, reproductive isolation among lineages. We propose to (1) describe the diversity of perfume phenotypes across the phylogeny of euglossine bees, (2) investigate whether and how divergent selection on chemosensory traits mediates reproductive isolation, and (3) characterize the genomic architecture and functional diversity of Olfactory Receptor (OR) genes expressed in antennae of related species of euglossine bees.”

The intellectual merit? “Most insects rely on chemical signals (semiochemicals) to gain precise information on the location, identity, and quality of potential mates," Ramirez says. “Despite the ubiquity and importance of semiochemicals across the insect phylogeny, the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms that control signal chemistry and signal detection remain poorly understood. Moreover, whether insect sex semiochemicals mediate reproductive isolation, speciation, and lineage diversification remains surprisingly unexplored given the vast diversity and ecological dominance of insects on Earth.”

His project involves integrating diverse techniques from multiple disciplines, including behavioral ecology, chemical ecology, population genetics, functional genomics, and neuroethology “to answer specific questions about the genetic basis, function, and evolution of chemosensory communication in arguably one of the most important groups of insect pollinators in the American tropics.”

“This project offers unique training and educational opportunities,” he says. “One postdoctoral researcher, one graduate student, and several undergraduate assistants will receive training in entomology, chemical ecology, population genetics, molecular biology, and neuroethology.”

Ramirez expects the field and laboratory work in South and Central America to “foster greater international cooperation, broadening our impact in the education and training of future scientists from diverse backgrounds. We have a track record of collaborating intimately with museums, public exhibits, filmmakers, botanical gardens, and educational institutions to disseminate our work on euglossine bees and their intricate associations with orchids.”

“They are extremely charismatic organisms and we are currently planning to join forces with a botanical garden to install an interactive exhibit on euglossine bees," he says.  "Our research will contribute toward the wider goal of gaining a better understanding of the natural world, including key organisms such as insect pollinators. The results derived from this investigation are likely to be of interest to the general public.”

Ramirez received his bachelor's degree in biology, with honors, from the Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) in 2001, and his doctorate in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 2008. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley from 2008 to 2012 before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2013.

Keynote speaker at the event is Steve Sheppard, Thurber Professor of Apiculture and chair of the Department of Entomology, Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, Wash. His topic is "Bees, Mushrooms and Liquid Nitrogen--What?" Sheppard's research involves improving honey bee health through breeding and alternative treatment approaches. He specializes in population genetics and evolution of honey bees, insect introductions and mechanisms of genetic differentiation.

Among the other speakers:

• Extension apiculturist Elina Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will introduce the apprentice-level California Master Beekeepers and present them with pins
• Researcher Maj Rundlöf, International Career Grant Fellow, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will discuss “Flowering Crops: A Tricky Treat for Bees”
• Veterinarian Michael Karle of the Mid-Valley Veterinary Hospital, Oakland, will speak on "The New FDA Rule on the Use of Antibiotics in Hives"
• Margaret Lombard, chief executive officer of the National Honey Board, to discuss "Good as Gold: Growing Opportunities for the Small-Scale Honey Producer."

 Also included will be a "Lightning Round," with each presentation spanning four to six minutes.

The topics:

• "Bumble Bee Cognition in the Wild" by Felicity Muth, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno
• "Habitat Planting for Bees," by the Neal Williams' lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
• "Optical Tagging of Bees to Track Individual Movements in colonies" by Stacey Combes, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior
• "Planet Bee: Citizen Bee Projects" by Debra Tomaszewski, executive director and co-founder of the Bay Area's Planet Bee Foundation
• "Plants and Pesticides: Keeping Bees Healthy with Ornamental Horticulture" by Christine Casey, program representative, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, UC Davis

Graduate students throughout California will be showcasing their pollinator-related research in the Graduate Student Poster Competition, a traditional part of the symposium. The winners will be announced at 4:15, at the conclusion of the symposium. Awards are first place, $1000; second place, $750; third, $500; and fourth, $250. 

To register for the symposium, access http://honey.ucdavis.edu/events/2017-bee-symposium. Amina Harris can be reached at aharris@ucdavis.edu for further information.

 

The folks at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis,call them "jungle gems."

And "gems" they are.

They're New World orchid bees (Euglossine bees), which museum director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, describes as "the most beautiful bees in the world."

They were recently featured at a Bohart Museum open house. 

A sign next to them read: "They pollinate orchids. They also probably have the best memory of any insect. The males memorize the location of all the orchid plants in their patch of forest and visit them periodically during the day."

The "jungle gems" are just a few of the treasures that visitors can see at the Bohart Museum,  located in Room 1124 of Academic Surge. The building is on Crocker Avenue (formerly California Avenue). The nearest intersection is LaRue Road.

The Bohart houses a global collection of more than seven million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.

The Bohart is open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.

To allow more visitors to attend, the museum holds a weekend open house once a month. The next weekend open house is set from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27.  The theme, in keeping with Halloween, is "Insects of Death."

Stay tuned on what's planned!