Abstract
Flying insects frequently navigate through environments of different complexity. In this study, buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) were trained to fly along tunnels of different widths, from 60 to 240 cm. In tunnel widths of 60 and 120 cm, bumblebees control their lateral position by balancing the magnitude of translational optic flow experienced in the lateral visual field of each eye. In wider tunnels, bumblebees use translational optic flow cues in the ventral visual field to control their lateral position and to steer along straight tracks. Our results also suggest that bumblebees prefer to fly over surfaces that provide strong ventral optic flow cues, rather than over featureless ones. Together, these strategies allow bumblebees to minimize the risk of collision and to maintain relatively straight flight paths in a broad range of environments.
Highlights
Flying insects, such as bees, frequently navigate through environments of different complexity, from open fields to cluttered bushes
When flying along these narrow corridors, honeybees (e.g., Kirchner and Srinivasan 1989; Srinivasan et al 1991) and bumblebees (Dyhr and Higgins 2010; Linander et al 2015) appear to control their lateral position by balancing the magnitude of lateral optic flow experienced in each eye, which enables them to keep an equal distance from each wall
Honeybees will fly along the midline of a 95 cm-wide tunnel if both the feeder and the entrance are centred, but if the feeder and the entrance are placed on the same side of the tunnel, they will adopt a wall-following behaviour, suggesting that they do not necessarily balance the magnitude of lateral optic flow in each eye when flying in more open spaces (Serres et al 2008)
Summary
Flying insects, such as bees, frequently navigate through environments of different complexity, from open fields to cluttered bushes They rely heavily on the optic flow information (the pattern of apparent image motion generated across the retina as an animal moves through its world). Studies investigating flight control in free flying insects have primarily been conducted in flight tunnels that are 40 cm or less in width When flying along these narrow corridors, honeybees (e.g., Kirchner and Srinivasan 1989; Srinivasan et al 1991) and bumblebees (Dyhr and Higgins 2010; Linander et al 2015) appear to control their lateral position by balancing the magnitude of lateral optic flow experienced in each eye, which enables them to keep an equal distance from each wall.
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