The automatic pilot of honeybees

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Riley, J. R., Greggers, U., Smith, A. D., Stach, S., Reynolds, D. R., Stollhoff, N., Brandt, R., Schaupp. F. and Menzel, R. 2003. The automatic pilot of honeybees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 270 (1532), pp. 2421-2424. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2542

AuthorsRiley, J. R., Greggers, U., Smith, A. D., Stach, S., Reynolds, D. R., Stollhoff, N., Brandt, R., Schaupp. F. and Menzel, R.
Abstract

Using scanning harmonic radar, we make visible for the first time the complete trajectories of ‘goal–vector’ flights in honeybees. We demonstrate that bees captured at an established feeding station, and released elsewhere, nevertheless embark on the previously learned vector flight that would have taken them directly home from the station, had they not been artificially displaced. Almost all of the bees maintained accurate compensation for lateral wind drift, and many completed the full length of the vector flight before starting to search for their hive. Our results showed that bees tend to disregard landscape cues during these vector flights, at least initially, and rely on the ‘optic flow’ of the ground beneath them, and their sun compass, to judge both direction and distance.

Year of Publication2003
JournalProceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Journal citation270 (1532), pp. 2421-2424
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2542
PubMed Central IDPMC1691532
Open accessPublished as bronze (free) open access
Funder project or code433
510
An harmonic radar investigation of the navigational performance of honey bees
Publisher's version
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online07 Dec 2003
Publication process dates
Accepted31 Jul 2003
PublisherRoyal Society Publishing
ISSN0962-8452

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/891qz/the-automatic-pilot-of-honeybees

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