Pollen Transport
Not all bees carry pollen the same way. Some carry pollen completely dry, while others carry pollen that has been mixed with nectar or floral oils. There are also major differences in the location of the scopae or corbiculae (pollen carrying brushes or plates). I seek to understand how and why different bees have different strategies to transport pollen, and what, if any, advantages and disadvantages the different transport modes confer. Currently, the primary question I am seeking to answer is whether transport mode is associated with particular floral hosts. I am tackling this problem by examining bees with different transport modes using light and electron microscopy. |