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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


Figure 1
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Fig. 1. The effect of varying tunnel length and orientation on the mean waggle duration of bees returning to the hive after feeding inside the tunnel. Values are means ± s.d. for each experimental condition. The walls and floor of the tunnel were lined with checkerboard patterns in all cases but one, where axial stripes (Ax) were used instead. The mean waggle duration varies with the length of the tunnel but not with its three-dimensional configuration. Abbreviations: 4m, 4 m tunnel; 6m, 6 m tunnel; h, horizontal tunnel; o, oblique tunnel, 48° incline; v, vertical tunnel; L, L-shaped tunnel, with a 2 m vertical section followed by a horizontal section.

 

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Fig. 2. The effect of varying tunnel length and orientation on the percentage of waggle loops of bees returning to the hive after feeding inside the tunnel. Values are means ± s.d. for each experimental condition. The proportion of waggle loops varies consistently with tunnel length, but not with tunnel orientation. Abbreviations: 4m, 4 m tunnel; 6m, 6 m tunnel; h, horizontal tunnel; o, oblique tunnel, 48° incline; v, vertical tunnel.

 

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Fig. 3. The effect of tunnel orientation on the position and accuracy of food search. Honeybees were trained to find a reward at unit 20 (arrow) of a horizontal tunnel or a vertical tunnel and were subsequently tested in an identical, fresh tunnel that carried no reward. The mean searching positions in the two experiments are not significantly different from each other or from the position of the feeder during the training.

 

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Fig. 4. The effect of the inclination of the flight path on the body orientation of a flying bee. The black-and-white squares depict the checkerboard pattern in the (A) horizontal, (B) vertical and (C) oblique tunnels. In each case, the drawing of the bee illustrates the mean body orientation of (A) 19°, (B) 10° and (C) –3°. Arrows indicate the direction of flight. Histograms show the number of flights representing each angle of body orientation, binned in 5° intervals, as measured in the (D) horizontal, (E) vertical and (F) oblique tunnels.

 

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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007