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Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)
Published on: December 12, 2012
Evidence for instantaneous e-vector detection in the honeybee using an associative learning paradigm.
Midori Sakura1, Ryuichi Okada, Hitoshi Aonuma
1Laboratory of Neurocybernetics, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 12, Nishi 7, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812, Japan. skr@port.kobe-u.ac.jp
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 8, 2011
Summary
Honeybees learn sky polarization patterns using their dorsal rim area (DRA) and ultraviolet light. This allows them to navigate by sensing e-vector orientation instantaneously, crucial for foraging flight direction.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Sensory Ecology
- Neuroethology
Background:
- Insects navigate using celestial cues, including polarized skylight.
- The dorsal rim area (DRA) of insect compound eyes detects sky polarization patterns.
- E-vector orientation provides crucial compass information for insect orientation and navigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate honeybees' ability to learn and discriminate e-vector orientations.
- To determine the role of the dorsal rim area (DRA) in processing polarized light cues.
- To identify the effective wavelengths for e-vector orientation learning in honeybees.
Main Methods:
- Classical conditioning using the proboscis extension reflex in honeybees.
- Inactivation of the dorsal rim area (DRA) by painting to assess its function.
- Testing discrimination of e-vector orientations under ultraviolet, blue, and green light.
Main Results:
- Honeybees successfully learned to discriminate between rewarded and unrewarded e-vector orientations.
- Inactivation of the DRA prevented honeybees from learning e-vector orientations.
- Discrimination was achieved with ultraviolet light (350 nm) but not with blue (442 nm) or green light (546 nm).
- Head fixation did not impair learning, suggesting an 'instantaneous' e-vector detection algorithm.
Conclusions:
- Honeybees learn and discriminate e-vector orientations sensed by UV receptors in the DRA.
- The DRA plays a critical role in processing polarized UV skylight for navigation.
- Honeybees utilize an 'instantaneous' method for e-vector detection, not requiring active scanning.
