Bumblebees perceive the spatial layout of their environment in relation to their body size and form to minimize inflight collisions.

ABSTRACT: Animals that move through complex habitats must frequently contend with obstacles in their path. Humans and other highly cognitive vertebrates avoid collisions by perceiving the relationship between the layout of their surroundings and the properties of their own body profile and action capacity. It is unknown whether insects, which have much smaller brains, possess such abilities. We used bumblebees, which vary widely in body size and regularly forage in dense vegetation, to investigate whether flying insects consider their own size when interacting with their surroundings. Bumblebees trained to fly in a tunnel were sporadically presented with an obstructing wall containing a gap that varied in width. Bees successfully flew through narrow gaps, even those that were much smaller than their

SUBMITTER: Ravi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7733852 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature