Abstract
The family Apidae, which is amongst the largest bee families, are important pollinators globally and have been well studied for their visual adaptations and visually guided behaviors. This review is a synthesis of what is known about their eyes and visual capabilities. There are many species-specific differences, however, the relationship between body size, eye size, resolution, and sensitivity shows common patterns. Salient differences between castes and sexes are evident in important visually guided behaviors such as nest defense and mate search. We highlight that Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris are popular bee models employed in the majority of studies that have contributed immensely to our understanding vision in bees. However, other species, specifically the tropical and many non-social Apidae, merit further investigation for a better understanding of the influence of ecological conditions on the evolution of bee vision.
Highlights
Apidae is the largest bee family and, besides Halictidae, has the largest number of social species including the approximately 500 species of stingless bees as well as the 8 species of honeybees and approximately 270 species of bumblebees [1,2]
Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris are popular bee models employed in the majority of studies that have contributed immensely to our understanding vision in bees
Social bees have attracted more attention than the even larger number of solitary bees, most studies on visual behavior and adaptations have focused on just two species, the European honeybee Apis mellifera, and the buff-tailed bumblebee
Summary
Apidae is the largest bee family (over 5900 species) and, besides Halictidae, has the largest number of social species including the approximately 500 species of stingless bees These two species, and more recently some species of stingless bees, have served as models for color vision (which we do not discuss here, for reviews see [3,4]), while other basic properties of their visual systems, such as spatial resolution, contrast sensitivity, and absolute sensitivity to light, have been studied to a lesser extent. We aim to summarize the current knowledge on spatial vision for social Apidae, relate it to their flight activity and their visually guided behaviors, and compare it to what is known from some other bees. We mostly focus on the eye regions with highest resolution and sensitivity (Table 1)
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