The Importance of Compound Eyes for Bees
Bees fly at an average speed of 10m/s (Pockley 2001). As they fly, their eyes capture images of the landscape moving past on either side. The efficiency of the eyes determining these images controls what information is received in the brain (Pockley 2001). This optic flow is a crucial element that allows bees to learn distances and navigational routes between their hive and feeding site (Pockley 2001).
Bees, like many other insects, have compound eyes, which are made up of thousands of “little eyes” known as ommatidia (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010) (Fig. 3). Each ommatidium focusses an individual and distinct portion of incoming light onto the photoreceptors (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). These can be grouped into three categories – UV sensitive, blue sensitive and green sensitive; indicating that bees cannot distinguish red light (Wakakuwa et al. 2007). Therefore, the amount in which the photoreceptors are stimulated determines the brightness and colours seen by bees.
Variations in the positioning of photoreceptors across the compound eyes allows for specialised functions (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). For example, the fronto-ventral position in the eye is specialised to allow bees to have colour vision (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). This also allows them to perceive colour and brightness of light as two separate things (Srinivasan 2010).
Bees, like many other insects, have compound eyes, which are made up of thousands of “little eyes” known as ommatidia (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010) (Fig. 3). Each ommatidium focusses an individual and distinct portion of incoming light onto the photoreceptors (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). These can be grouped into three categories – UV sensitive, blue sensitive and green sensitive; indicating that bees cannot distinguish red light (Wakakuwa et al. 2007). Therefore, the amount in which the photoreceptors are stimulated determines the brightness and colours seen by bees.
Variations in the positioning of photoreceptors across the compound eyes allows for specialised functions (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). For example, the fronto-ventral position in the eye is specialised to allow bees to have colour vision (Wakakuwa et al. 2007; Srinivasan 2010). This also allows them to perceive colour and brightness of light as two separate things (Srinivasan 2010).