Have you heard of perfume bees?

These are male orchid bees in the Jardín Botánico "Las Orquídeas" in Puyo, Ecuador collecting liquid scents from orchids to create their own complex perfumes, with the goal of seducing females. Unlike most bees that visit flowers for nectar or pollen, these males are primarily after the VOCs that make up a flower’s scent. 

The bees use dense brushes of hair on their front legs to scrub the scent-producing parts of the orchid. To help dissolve the scent, they apply fats from their own glands to the flower’s surface - their version of “enfleurage”.  Then in a series of complex mid-air movements they transfer the fragrance from their front legs to their middle legs, and finally into large, hollow pockets on their back legs. These hind-leg pockets act like a sponge to store concentrated perfume for long periods, until it's time for courtship. 

During courtship, the males perform a specific display - often on a tree trunk - where they fan their wings to release the stored scent. Of course, to create the most attractive scent, they diversify and also gather scent from fungi, rotting wood, and even animal waste. The more complex the scent is, the more it signals to the female that the male is healthy and fit. 

Video by flickr.com/photos/andre…