Cargando…

Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns

Foraging insect pollinators such as bees must find and identify flowers in a complex visual environment. Bees use skylight polarization patterns for navigation [1–3], a capacity mediated by the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area (DRA) of their eye [4, 5]. While other insects use polarization sen...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Foster, James J., Sharkey, Camilla R., Gaworska, Alicia V.A., Roberts, Nicholas W., Whitney, Heather M., Partridge, Julian C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cell Press 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24909321
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.007
_version_ 1782321714024153088
author Foster, James J.
Sharkey, Camilla R.
Gaworska, Alicia V.A.
Roberts, Nicholas W.
Whitney, Heather M.
Partridge, Julian C.
author_facet Foster, James J.
Sharkey, Camilla R.
Gaworska, Alicia V.A.
Roberts, Nicholas W.
Whitney, Heather M.
Partridge, Julian C.
author_sort Foster, James J.
collection PubMed
description Foraging insect pollinators such as bees must find and identify flowers in a complex visual environment. Bees use skylight polarization patterns for navigation [1–3], a capacity mediated by the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area (DRA) of their eye [4, 5]. While other insects use polarization sensitivity to identify appropriate habitats [6], oviposition sites, and food sources [7], to date no nonnavigational functions of polarization vision have been identified in bees. Here we investigated the ability of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to learn polarization patterns on artificial “flowers” in order to obtain a food reward. We show that foraging bumblebees can learn to discriminate between two differently polarized targets, but only when the target artificial “flower” is viewed from below. A context for these results is provided by polarization imaging of bee-pollinated flowers, revealing the potential for polarization patterns in real flowers. Bees may therefore have the ability to use polarization vision, possibly mediated by their polarization-sensitive DRA, both for navigation and to learn polarization patterns on flowers, the latter being the first nonnavigational function for bee polarization vision to be identified.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4062934
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2014
publisher Cell Press
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-40629342014-06-20 Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns Foster, James J. Sharkey, Camilla R. Gaworska, Alicia V.A. Roberts, Nicholas W. Whitney, Heather M. Partridge, Julian C. Curr Biol Report Foraging insect pollinators such as bees must find and identify flowers in a complex visual environment. Bees use skylight polarization patterns for navigation [1–3], a capacity mediated by the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area (DRA) of their eye [4, 5]. While other insects use polarization sensitivity to identify appropriate habitats [6], oviposition sites, and food sources [7], to date no nonnavigational functions of polarization vision have been identified in bees. Here we investigated the ability of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to learn polarization patterns on artificial “flowers” in order to obtain a food reward. We show that foraging bumblebees can learn to discriminate between two differently polarized targets, but only when the target artificial “flower” is viewed from below. A context for these results is provided by polarization imaging of bee-pollinated flowers, revealing the potential for polarization patterns in real flowers. Bees may therefore have the ability to use polarization vision, possibly mediated by their polarization-sensitive DRA, both for navigation and to learn polarization patterns on flowers, the latter being the first nonnavigational function for bee polarization vision to be identified. Cell Press 2014-06-16 /pmc/articles/PMC4062934/ /pubmed/24909321 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.007 Text en © 2014 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Report
Foster, James J.
Sharkey, Camilla R.
Gaworska, Alicia V.A.
Roberts, Nicholas W.
Whitney, Heather M.
Partridge, Julian C.
Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title_full Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title_fullStr Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title_full_unstemmed Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title_short Bumblebees Learn Polarization Patterns
title_sort bumblebees learn polarization patterns
topic Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062934/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24909321
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.007
work_keys_str_mv AT fosterjamesj bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns
AT sharkeycamillar bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns
AT gaworskaaliciava bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns
AT robertsnicholasw bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns
AT whitneyheatherm bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns
AT partridgejulianc bumblebeeslearnpolarizationpatterns