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First published online February 12, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 845-853 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.002089
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Honeybee navigation: distance estimation in the third dimension

M. Dacke* and M. V. Srinivasan

Centre for Excellence in Vision Science, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, PO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: marie.dacke{at}anu.edu.au)

Accepted 4 January 2007

Honeybees determine distance flown by gauging the extent to which the image of the environment moves in the eye as they fly towards their goal. Here we investigate how this visual odometer operates when a bee flies along paths that include a vertical component. By training bees to fly to a feeder along tunnels of various three-dimensional configurations, we find that the odometric signal depends only upon the total distance travelled along the path and is independent of its three-dimensional configuration. Hence, unlike walking desert ants, which measure the distance travelled in the horizontal plane whilst traversing undulating terrain, flying bees simply integrate the image motion that is experienced on the way to the goal, irrespective of the direction in which the image moves across the eyes. These findings raise important questions about how honeybee recruits navigate reliably to find the food sources that are advertised by scouts.

Key words: odometer, distance estimation, honeybee, Apis mellifera, optic flow


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007