Reply to Cheung et al.: The cognitive map hypothesis remains the best interpretation of the data in honeybee navigation.

Abstract

Cheung et al. (1) criticize two points of our study, both of which are unfounded. The first is that general anesthesia is not shifting the clock controlling sun compass orientation in bees. This is clearly wrong. We show that sun compass orientation and food anticipatory behavior are systematically shifted by anesthesia. This effect results from anesthesia shifting the underlying molecular circadian clock of the bee (2).