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Post by moabiter on May 14, 2010 12:58:06 GMT -8
I know about bee navigation, just can't figure how it relates to UV/magnetism.
- light (solar compass, in relation to sun) - **magnetic field sensitivity** - patterns (sight, smell) - symmetry (flowers) - dance (sharing info) - internal clock (odometer)
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Post by moabiter on May 14, 2010 12:59:42 GMT -8
The basic concept comes from laboratory studies on night migrating birds, monarch butterflies and dung beetles.
The way it appears to work is that initial alignment is made using the magnetic field. Once this alignment is achieved the sun/moon tracking system is activated. The tracking system will not become active unless magnetic alignment is achived and in butteflies is only active when the sun is up.
The Monarchs use special parts of their eyes to track the polarization of ultraviolet light which changes during the daytime depending on the position of the sun.
If the ozone layer is changed this will affect the ultraviolet polarization. Its caused Monarchs to be 200 miles off course.
I've also found that porpoises are ultraviolet seers and by inference whales as well and I believe their tracking system operates using UV.
Why UV? Well it goes through clouds and water much better than visible light so it allows navigation on cloudy days and underwater.
50% of night migrating birds vision is in the ultraviolet. They key off the moon imho and scientific studies show that is how dung beetles walk in a straight line at night - they use UV moonlight.
By inference, since bees see in the uv as well as visible I would assume a similar navigation system. The insects have a precise clock that they use along with the position of the sun to navigate, There was a lot of study on the monarchs thinking somehow this clock was off, but it wasn't the clock it was the polarization.
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Post by hybrid clone on Jan 18, 2011 9:47:10 GMT -8
A bees-eye view: How insects see flowers very differently to us Last updated at 08:52 08 August 2007 And as these remarkable pictures show, there is more to many flowers than meets the eye - the human eye at least. Many species, including bees, can see a broader spectrum of light than we can, opening up a whole new world. Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis): To the human eye the flower looks solid yellow but insects can aim for the bullseye in the centreDandelion (Taraxacum officinale): The familiar mop top is transformed for the beesBecause we cannot see UV light, the colours in these photographs are representational, but the patterns are real. Scroll down for more www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-473897/A-bees-eye-view-How-insects-flowers-differently-us.html
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Post by clone on Apr 4, 2012 22:45:34 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Apr 17, 2012 21:57:10 GMT -8
Drugged Honeybees Do the Time Warp 16 April 2012, 3:05 PM First, the researchers tested the insects' ability to navigate back to their hive after being dosed with isoflurane for 6 hours. Honeybees use the sun's position, along with their internal clock, to determine the way home. If anesthetics interrupted that clock, the researchers expected to see a shift in the bees' headings. And indeed, when the team released the insects into novel areas in Germany and New Zealand and watched them try to fly home, post-anesthetic bees were nearly 90° off in the Southern Hemisphere and 62° off in the Northern Hemisphere. This deviation indicated a delay in the honeybees' internal clock, the researchers report online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/drugged-honeybees-do-the-time-wa.html?ref=hp
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