Hrncir M, Jarau S, Zucchi R, Barth F G
Institute of Zoology, Biocenter, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2003 Oct;189(10):761-8. doi: 10.1007/s00359-003-0448-5. Epub 2003 Aug 19.
Foragers of a stingless bee, Melipona seminigra, are able to use the optic flow experienced en route to estimate flight distance. After training the bees to collect food inside a flight tunnel with black-and-white stripes covering the side walls and the floor, their search behavior was observed in tunnels lacking a reward. Like honeybees, the bees accurately estimated the distance to the previously offered food source as seen from the sections of the tunnel where they turned around in search of the food. Changing the visual flow by decreasing the width of the flight tunnel resulted in the underestimation of the distance flown. The removal of image motion cues either in the ventral or lateral field of view reduced the bees' ability to gauge distances. When the feeder inside the tunnel was displaced together with the bees feeding on it while preventing the bee from seeing any image motion during the displacement the bees experienced different distances on their way to the food source and during their return to the nest. In the subsequent test the bees searched for the food predominantly at the distance associated with their return flight.
无刺蜂Melipona seminigra的觅食者能够利用途中经历的光流来估计飞行距离。在训练蜜蜂在一个飞行隧道内收集食物后，该隧道的侧壁和地面覆盖着黑白条纹，然后在没有奖励的隧道中观察它们的搜索行为。与蜜蜂一样，这些蜜蜂能从它们转身寻找食物的隧道部分准确估计到先前提供的食物源的距离。通过减小飞行隧道的宽度来改变视觉流，会导致对飞行距离的低估。去除腹侧或侧视野中的图像运动线索会降低蜜蜂测量距离的能力。当隧道内的喂食器与在其上进食的蜜蜂一起移动，同时在移动过程中防止蜜蜂看到任何图像运动时，蜜蜂在前往食物源的途中以及返回蜂巢的过程中经历了不同的距离。在随后的测试中，蜜蜂主要在与它们返回飞行相关的距离处寻找食物。
