During their search for food, most insects head specifically for the flowers that promise the highest reward. Researchers from the #UniKonstanz and the @uni-wuerzburg.de have now studied how bumblebees process information about their food sources. Full story: t1p.de/mndcd
New paper out on the decision strategies of bumblebees. When using visual cues to make flower choices, they switch strategy with sensory context, learning as much as necessary, but as little as possible. Based on their training time, we propose a mechanism for this switch. tinyurl.com/2r9d4jrs 🌸🐝🧠
Work conducted with Johannes Spaethe at Würzburg University, the bee-witchers of bumblebees Selma Hutzenthaler, Alexander Dietz, and Karl Gehrig, and statistic wizard @jjfosterlab.bsky.social. Big thanks to everyone for the great collaboration, and to everyone who supported this study!!
L1/L2 synapse distributions predict both spatial summation and lateral inhibition, which are both performed by these neurons, the former in dim, the latter in bright light. We suggest that summation and inhibition segregate into separate layers in a single L1/L2 cell.
L1 / L2 spatial response profiles also do not show two distinct clusters, and neither does their spatial anatomy, which is highly variable, but does not delineate with cell type.
Unlike in fruit flies, where L1 and L2 differ in their luminance and contrast responses, we find that hawkmoth L1 / L2 provide mirror-symmetrical information to downstream motion vision. They respond only to contrast, not luminance, and have faster hyperpolarising than depolarising dynamics.
For press release #UniKonstanz
@cbehav.bsky.social t1p.de/h15yj
I am thrilled to share my second PhD manuscript! We modelled bee polarisation vision and tested two navigational models. Many thanks to @jjfosterlab.bsky.social and all our collaborators (@egkanias.bsky.social,@edinburgh-uni.bsky.social,@insectlabsu.bsky.social) for such a productive collaboration!
Dancing with the stars?
No! Bees dance with the sun, but only if it is made of bright UV or green light 🐝🌞🕺
New research by @jjfosterlab.bsky.social 👇👇
Excited to share my first PhD preprint! w/ Sören Kannegieser and @anna-stoeckl.bsky.social @insect-vision.bsky.social
We investigated how hawkmoths coordinate lateralized sensory and motor control for appendage guidance, revealing similar control principles to vertebrates doi.org/10.64898/202...