Polarization Vision and Orientation in Ball-Rolling Dung Beetles

Ball-rolling dung beetles orient in some of the most visually challenging habitats on Earth: dark savannahs, forests, and cities. This remarkable ability is guided in part by the directional information extracted from the celestial pattern of linearly polarized light. In this chapter, we first summarize our current understanding of the behavioural relevance of polarized light as an orientation cue for dung beetles. We then discuss neurophysiological studies, which indicate how polarization information is processed in the dung beetle brain. Together, these literary branches form a neuroethological body, enhancing both our understanding of polarized light as an orientation cue and the neural mechanisms that facilitate its use. The earlier knowledge about polarization sensitivity in insects living on moist substrata or dung has been reviewed by Horváth and Varjú (Section 18.10: Insects living on moist substrata or dung. In: Polarized light in animal vision—polarization patterns in nature. Springer: Heidelberg, Berlin, New York, pp. 195–197, 2004). The earlier literature about polarization vision in ball-rolling dung beetles was summarized by Dacke (Chapter 2: Polarized light orientation in ball-rolling dung beetles. In: Horváth G (ed) Polarized light and polarization vision in animal sciences. Springer: Heidelberg, Berlin, New York, pp. 27–40, 2014).