Females gather pollen and nectar as food from a variety of plants, and resins, mud and other materials for nest building.

Several flowers from other plant families are also visited by the bees: Spathiphyllum and Anthurium (Araceae), Drymonia and Gloxinia (Gesneriaceae), Cyphomandra (Solanaceae), and Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae) contain one or more species that attract male euglossines.

[3] The chemicals are picked up using special brushes on the forelegs, transferred from there by rubbing the brushes against combs on the middle legs, and finally these combs are pressed into grooves on the dorsal edge of the hind legs, squeezing the chemicals past the waxy hairs which block the opening of the groove, and into a sponge-like cavity inside the hind tibia.

[4] The accumulated "fragrances" are evidently released by the males at their display sites in the forest understory, where matings are known to take place.

For Euglossa imperialis, studies have shown that there is a significant trend in chemical preference for cineole during later times in the year as opposed to methyl salicylate.

The male of Eufriesea purpurata is highly unusual among insects in seeking out and collecting large quantities of insecticide.