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May 21, 2020

Chemical compounds in male orchid bee’s perfume analyzed

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to separate and analyze each chemical compound in a male orchid bee’s (pictured) enticing perfume.

[Research supported by National Science Foundation grant DEB 1457753.]

Learn more in the University of California, Davis, news story Can scents create new species? Smells like orchid bee evolution. (Date image taken: unknown; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: May 21, 2020)

Credit: Chemical compounds in male orchid bee’s perfume analyzed


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