Plants can chemically
manipulate pollinator behaviour against the pollinators' best interests,
to optimize pollination services at minimal cost. Bee orchids (
Ophrys
spp.) offer bees no nectar reward, but instead mimic female bee sex
pheromones to trick corresponding male bees into visiting and
transferring pollen [
70].
Other plant species may still offer nectar rewards, but chemically
induce pollinators to over-value these rewards and visit with greater
frequency than would be optimal for pollinators [
42].
Despite the continued interest in the bee deaths on
T. tomentosa,
the floral chemistry including nectar, pollen and floral volatiles
remains understudied. Bumblebees, and to a lesser extent honeybees, are
attracted to linden even at the end of the flowering period, when little
nectar is produced [
39]. The potent scent of
T. tomentosa has long been noted [
21]. Illies [
13] speculated
T. tomentosa scent may mimic unknown bumblebee pheromones, causing