Precise, individualized foraging flights in honeybees revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking.

Area of Science:

• Animal behavior
• Navigation and spatial cognition
• Insect ecology

Background:

• Honeybees navigate long distances using landmarks and path integration.
• Previous tracking methods limited detailed understanding of individual honeybee navigation strategies.
• Hypothesized cognitive map use in honeybees lacked high-resolution empirical support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate honeybee navigational precision and strategies using a novel drone-based tracking system.
• To analyze individual flight paths at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.
• To compare navigational precision with waggle dance communication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a novel multicopter drone-based tracking system for high-resolution 3D tracking of individual honeybee flights.
• Recorded flight paths in a structured agricultural landscape.
• Analyzed flight path variability in relation to visual landscape features and landmarks.

Main Results:

• Individual honeybees followed idiosyncratic yet highly precise and repeatable flight paths.
• Flight path variability was lowest near prominent landmarks and highest in visually sparse areas.
• Observed distinct individual strategies for approaching the hive, differing in route selection around obstacles.

Conclusions:

• Honeybee navigation exhibits remarkable individual precision, exceeding waggle dance accuracy.
• The findings suggest sophisticated spatial representations and flexible behavioral strategies in honeybees.
• The drone-based tracking method offers new potential for studying honeybee ecology and cognition at fine scales.