Functioning of Bee’s Brain to Guide it Home

A new study on bee’s brain has been done by scientist Stanley Heinze of Lund University. The study told that a network of compass and speed neurons in the bee brain can integrate every change in direction and distance covering outbound journeys. Thus, it enables the insect to return directly to home.

Vision is used by the bees to navigate but there was a little knowledge about what happens inside their brains. Central complex is a part of the bee brain which has polarized – light based compass neurons and optic-flow-based speed-encoding neurons. The study authors found that this region plays a crucial role in controlling the navigation system. This is known as path integration or ‘dead reckoning’ which is mainly used by many animals consisting of bees, ants and humans.

The memory is created by these cells that are used to add up all the elements of the outbound journey. The created memory is the one that bees use to fly home by the most direct route.

Source: www.sci-news.com

By: Bhavna Sharma