Neuro-muscular mechanisms controlling a flight maneuver in the honeybee

Abstract

1. Changes in the speed of bees flying on a turnabout were induced by moving a patterned corridor about the moving bee (Fig. 1). Records were made of flight speed, wingbeat frequency and action potential frequencies in both the dorsoventral and dorsolongitudinal flight muscles. 2. Increases in the action potential frequency of the dorsoventral muscles (DV APF) were significantly correlated, in a positive sense, to the increases in flight speed. Changes in the action potential frequency of the dorsolongitudinal muscles (DL APF) were not correlated with changes of flight speed when the animals were flying at a net positive ground speed (optical pattern moving from front to back) but large decreases in the action potential frequency of this muscle occurred when the animals were flown with a net negative ground speed (optical pattern moving from back to front). 3. The range of variability of the wingbeat frequency (WBF) was small (approx. ±4%), however, wingbeat frequency was also negatively correlated with the increases in flight speed that occurred when animals were flown with a net negative ground speed. 4. The observed changes in the action potential frequencies of the dorsoventral and dorsolongitudinal muscles and wingbeat frequency were subjected to a multiple regression analysis. The following equation relating the % changes of these three parameters gives a very good estimate of the observed increases in flight speed. Predicted changes in flight speed = (3.46 × Δ DV APF) + (−1.58 × Δ DL APF) + (−5.61 × Δ WBF) + 23.2: multiple correlation coefficient (R) = 0.88,P≪ 0.001.