Pfeiffer lab - Neuroethology of spatial orientation

Insects show a broad repertoire of spatial orientation behaviors. This includes simple behaviors, like straight-line orientation, as well as long-range navigation and the ability to return to a nest on a direct path at any time (vector navigation or path integration). All these behaviors are facilitated through sensory information, especially from the visual and olfactory system.

Bees use an internal sky compass, which allows them to orient themselves with respect to the position of the sun. Both the direct sunlight as well as the polarization pattern of the sky and its spectral gradient can be used as reference cues for orientation. Beyond the sky compass, landmarks and the visual panorama play an important role in the orientation of bees.

Our group studies how information from these different reference systems is being used, how they are interconnected and how the different sources of information information are integrated and processed in the brain. Our studies are carried out on honeybees and bumblebees using anatomical, physiological and ethological methods. This includes dye injection into neurons, immunocytochemistry, electrophysiology, and behavioral experiments.

• Electrophysiological studies of the dynamic properties of compass-neurons in the brain of bumblebees

• Neuroanatomical studies of the compass-system in bumblebees and honeybees

• Behavioral studies of the bumblebee visual system

• Influence of temperature on processing of visual stimuli