Foraging bumblebees can detect scents left on flowers by previous bumblebee
visitors and hence avoid flowers that have been depleted of nectar. Tarsal
secretions are probably responsible for this repellent effect. The chemica
l components of the tarsal glands were analyzed by combined gas chromatogra
phy-mass spectrometry for three species of bumblebee. Bombus terrestris, B.
lapidarius, and B. pascuorum. The hydrocarbons identified were similar for
each species. although there were interspecific differences in the relativ
e amounts of each compound present. The tarsal extracts of all three specie
s comprised complex mixtures of long-chain alkanes and alkenes with between
21 and 29 carbon atoms. When B. terrestris tarsal extracts were applied to
flowers and offered to foraging bumblebees of the three species. each exhi
bited a similar response; concentrated solutions produced a repellent effec
t, which decreased as the concentration declined. We bioassayed synthetic t
ricosane (one of the compounds found in the tarsal extracts) at a range of
doses to determine whether it gave a similar response. Doses greater than o
r equal to 10(-12) ng/flower resulted in rejection by foraging B. lapidariu
s. Only when less than or equal to 10(-14) ng was applied did the repellent
effect fade. We bioassayed four other synthetic compounds found in tarsal
extracts and a mixture of all five compounds to determine which were import
ant in inducing a repellent effect in B. lapidarius workers. All induced re
pellency but the strength of the response varied: heneicosane was most repe
llent while tricosene was least repellent. These findings are discussed in
relation to previous studies that found that tarsal scent marks were attrac
tive rather than repellent.