Discrimination of edge orientation by bumblebees.


Journal

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
Titre abrégé: PLoS One
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 101285081

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
2022
Historique:
received: 03 01 2022
accepted: 01 06 2022
entrez: 16 6 2022
pubmed: 17 6 2022
medline: 22 6 2022
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Simple feature detectors in the visual system, such as edge-detectors, are likely to underlie even the most complex visual processing, so understanding the limits of these systems is crucial for a fuller understanding of visual processing. We investigated the ability of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) to discriminate between differently angled edges. In a multiple-choice, "meadow-like" scenario, bumblebees successfully discriminated between angled bars with 7° differences, significantly exceeding the previously reported performance of eastern honeybees (Apis cerana, limit: 15°). Neither the rate at which bees learned, nor their final discrimination performance were affected by the angular orientation of the training bars, indicating a uniform performance across the visual field. Previous work has found that, in dual-choice tests, eastern honeybees cannot reliably discriminate between angles with less than 25° difference, suggesting that performance in discrimination tasks is affected by the training regime, and doesn't simply reflect the perceptual limitations of the visual system. We used high resolution LCD monitors to investigate bumblebees' angular resolution in a dual-choice experiment. Bumblebees could still discriminate 7° angle differences under such conditions (exceeding the previously reported limit for Apis mellifera, of 10°, as well as that of A. cerana). Bees eventually reached similar levels of accuracy in the dual-choice experiment as they did under multiple-choice conditions but required longer learning periods. Bumblebees show impressive abilities to discriminate between angled edges, performing better than two previously tested species of honeybee. This high performance may, in turn, support complex visual processing in the bumblebee brain.

Identifiants

pubmed: 35709295
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263198
pii: PONE-D-22-00151
pmc: PMC9202920
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

e0263198

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Auteurs

Marie Guiraud (M)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Mark Roper (M)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Drone Development Lab, Ben Thorns Ltd, Colchester, United Kingdom.

Stephan Wolf (S)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Joseph L Woodgate (JL)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.

Lars Chittka (L)

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.

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Classifications MeSH