Dim-light colour vision in the facultatively nocturnal Asian giant honeybee, Apis dorsata
Vijayan, Sajesh ; Balamurali, G. S. ; Johnson, Jewel ; Kelber, Almut LU ; Warrant, Eric J. LU
and Somanathan, Hema
LU
(2023)
In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
290(2004).
- Abstract
We discovered nocturnal colour vision in the Asian giant honeybee Apis dorsata - a facultatively nocturnal species - at mesopic light intensities, down to half-moon light levels (approx. 10 -2 cd m -2). The visual threshold of nocturnality aligns with their reported nocturnal activity down to the same light levels. Nocturnal colour vision in A. dorsata is interesting because, despite being primarily diurnal, its colour vision capabilities extend into dim light, while the 'model' European honeybee Apis mellifera is reported to be colour-blind at twilight. By employing behavioural experiments with naturally nesting A. dorsata colonies, we show discrimination of the trained colour from other stimuli during the day, and significantly, even... (More)
We discovered nocturnal colour vision in the Asian giant honeybee Apis dorsata - a facultatively nocturnal species - at mesopic light intensities, down to half-moon light levels (approx. 10 -2 cd m -2). The visual threshold of nocturnality aligns with their reported nocturnal activity down to the same light levels. Nocturnal colour vision in A. dorsata is interesting because, despite being primarily diurnal, its colour vision capabilities extend into dim light, while the 'model' European honeybee Apis mellifera is reported to be colour-blind at twilight. By employing behavioural experiments with naturally nesting A. dorsata colonies, we show discrimination of the trained colour from other stimuli during the day, and significantly, even at night. Nocturnal colour vision in bees has so far only been reported in the obligately nocturnal carpenter bee Xylocopa tranquebarica. The discovery of colour vision in these two bee species, despite differences in the extent of their nocturnality and the limitations of their apposition compound eye optics, opens avenues for future studies on visual adaptations for dim-light colour vision, their role in pollination of flowers at night, and the effect of light pollution on nocturnal activity in A. dorsata, a ubiquitous pollinator in natural, agricultural and urban habitats in the Asian tropics and sub-tropics.
(Less)
- author
- Vijayan, Sajesh
; Balamurali, G. S.
; Johnson, Jewel
; Kelber, Almut
LU
; Warrant, Eric J.
LU
and Somanathan, Hema
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- apposition compound eye, honeybee, nocturnal colour vision, pollination
- in
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- volume
- 290
- issue
- 2004
- article number
- 20231267
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37554033
- scopus:85167370784
- ISSN
- 0962-8452
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2023.1267
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b9d1676a-b732-4de5-837e-73c7c0f1090d
- date added to LUP
- 2023-11-01 15:01:20
- date last changed
- 2024-04-19 03:24:56
@article{b9d1676a-b732-4de5-837e-73c7c0f1090d,
abstract = {{<p>We discovered nocturnal colour vision in the Asian giant honeybee Apis dorsata - a facultatively nocturnal species - at mesopic light intensities, down to half-moon light levels (approx. 10 -2 cd m -2). The visual threshold of nocturnality aligns with their reported nocturnal activity down to the same light levels. Nocturnal colour vision in A. dorsata is interesting because, despite being primarily diurnal, its colour vision capabilities extend into dim light, while the 'model' European honeybee Apis mellifera is reported to be colour-blind at twilight. By employing behavioural experiments with naturally nesting A. dorsata colonies, we show discrimination of the trained colour from other stimuli during the day, and significantly, even at night. Nocturnal colour vision in bees has so far only been reported in the obligately nocturnal carpenter bee Xylocopa tranquebarica. The discovery of colour vision in these two bee species, despite differences in the extent of their nocturnality and the limitations of their apposition compound eye optics, opens avenues for future studies on visual adaptations for dim-light colour vision, their role in pollination of flowers at night, and the effect of light pollution on nocturnal activity in A. dorsata, a ubiquitous pollinator in natural, agricultural and urban habitats in the Asian tropics and sub-tropics.</p>}},
author = {{Vijayan, Sajesh and Balamurali, G. S. and Johnson, Jewel and Kelber, Almut and Warrant, Eric J. and Somanathan, Hema}},
issn = {{0962-8452}},
keywords = {{apposition compound eye; honeybee; nocturnal colour vision; pollination}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2004}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Dim-light colour vision in the facultatively nocturnal Asian giant honeybee, Apis dorsata}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1267}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2023.1267}},
volume = {{290}},
year = {{2023}},
}