Polarization Sensitivity in Bees (Apoidea)

This chapter reviews polarization sensitivity in the hymenopterans of the bee superfamily Apoidea. Species within this family, in particular the Western honeybee Apis mellifera and the buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris, have featured in some of the earliest studies of polarization vision. As central-place foragers, these species require an accurate compass to shuttle between food sources and their nest and therefore benefit greatly from a polarization compass. Eusocial bees forage not only to placate their own hunger but also that of their queen and many sisters, necessitating continuous foraging trips and searches for new food sources, both of which rely on accurate and efficient navigation. This strong and repeated motivation to forage has provided ample opportunities for behavioural studies of polarization sensitivity that can also inform our understanding of how this information might be processed and used by other less accessible insect species. Nonetheless, there remain many aspects of bee polarization sensitivity that still defy explanation, and several recent studies have suggested novel and as yet unexplored features of bee polarization sensitivity. The earlier literature about bee polarization vision has been partly reviewed by Horváth and Varjú (Polarized light in animal vision – polarization patterns in nature. Springer, Heidelberg/Berlin/New York, 2004) and Zeil et al. (Chapter 3: Polarisation vision in ants, bees and wasps. In: Horváth G (ed) Polarized light and polarization vision in animal sciences. Springer, Heidelberg/Berlin/New York, pp 41–60. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54718-8_3 , 2014).