The unusual ocellar morphology of the orchid bee
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1
Lund University, Sweden
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2
Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Institute for sensory biology, Germany
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3
Australian National University, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australia
Orchid bees of the genus Euglossini are fast-flying highly aerobatic hymenopterans that inhabit the dense forests of Central America. Male orchid bees collect scent from spatially-rare orchid flowers, which they then blend into a perfume that is used to attract mates at specific ‘display’ sites. The visual environment of the orchid bee habitat is unlike that of most diurnal hymenopterans as it is dim (due to shading from the thick canopy) and densely cluttered. To begin to understand if and how the visual system and visual behaviour of orchid bees has adapted to this challenging environment, we performed a morphological analysis of their large ocellar system (figure 1). Unusual characteristics of the orchid bee ocelli are the large clear zone between the lens and the retina and the two distinct retinal zones present in the median ocellus. The most surprising feature of the orchid bee ocellar morphology, however, is the organisation of the rhabdoms. In the median ocellus, the rhabdoms are oriented horizontally (0°), in the left lateral ocellus they are oriented 40° upwards and in the right lateral ocellus, 40° downwards. The curious features of the orchid bee ocelli suggest that these bees have indeed a visual system that is adapted for the peculiarities of the dense rainforest environment.
Keywords:
insect,
Vision,
ocelli,
orchid bee,
rainforest
Conference:
International Conference on Invertebrate Vision, Fjälkinge, Sweden, 1 Aug - 8 Aug, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Oral presentation preferred
Topic:
Eye design, optics and spatial vision
Citation:
Baird
E,
Warrant
E,
Lunau
K and
Ribi
W
(2019). The unusual ocellar morphology of the orchid bee.
Front. Physiol.
Conference Abstract:
International Conference on Invertebrate Vision.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fphys.2013.25.00025
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Received:
26 Feb 2013;
Published Online:
09 Dec 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Emily Baird, Lund University, Lund, 22362, Sweden, emily.baird@zoologi.su.se