RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Orientation to polarized light in tethered flying honeybees
JF The Journal of Experimental Biology
JO J. Exp. Biol.
FD The Company of Biologists Ltd
SP jeb228254
DO 10.1242/jeb.228254
VO 223
IS 23
A1 Kobayashi, Norihiro
A1 Okada, Ryuichi
A1 Sakura, Midori
YR 2020
UL http://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/23/jeb228254.abstract
AB Many insects exploit the partial plane polarization of skylight for visual compass orientation and/or navigation. In the present study, using a tethering system, we investigated how flying bees respond to polarized light stimuli. The behavioral responses of honeybees (Apis mellifera) to a zenithal polarized light stimulus were observed using a tethered animal in a flight simulator. Flight direction of the bee was recorded by monitoring the horizontal movement of its abdomen, which was strongly anti-correlated with its torque. When the e-vector orientation of the polarized light was rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, the bee responded with periodic right-and-left abdominal movements; however, the bee did not show any clear periodic movement under the static e-vector or depolarized stimulus. The steering frequency of the bee was well coordinated with the e-vector rotation frequency of the stimulus, indicating that the flying bee oriented itself to a certain e-vector orientation, i.e. exhibited polarotaxis. The percentage of bees exhibiting clear polarotaxis was much smaller under the fast stimulus (3.6 deg s−1) compared with that under a slow stimulus (0.9 or 1.8 deg s−1). Bees did not demonstrate any polarotactic behavior after the dorsal rim area of the eyes, which mediates insect polarization vision in general, was bilaterally covered with black paint. Preferred e-vector orientations under the clockwise stimulus varied among individuals and distributed throughout −90 to 90 deg. Some bees showed similar preferred e-vector orientations for clockwise and counterclockwise stimuli whereas others did not. Our results strongly suggest that flying honeybees utilize the e-vector information from the skylight to deduce their heading orientation for navigation.