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Koethe S, Reinartz L, Heard TA, Garcia JE, Dyer AG, Lunau K. Comparative psychophysics of Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) and stingless bee (Tetragonula carbonaria) colour purity and intensity perception. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2022; 208:641-652. [PMID: 36269403 PMCID: PMC9734212 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-022-01581-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Bees play a vital role as pollinators worldwide and have influenced how flower colour signals have evolved. The Western honey bee, Apis mellifera (Apini), and the Buff-tailed bumble bee, Bombus terrestris (Bombini) are well-studied model species with regard to their sensory physiology and pollination capacity, although currently far less is known about stingless bees (Meliponini) that are common in pantropical regions. We conducted comparative experiments with two highly eusocial bee species, the Western honey bee, A. mellifera, and the Australian stingless bee, Tetragonula carbonaria, to understand their colour preferences considering fine-scaled stimuli specifically designed for testing bee colour vision. We employed stimuli made of pigment powders to allow manipulation of single colour parameters including spectral purity (saturation) or colour intensity (brightness) of a blue colour (hue) for which both species have previously shown innate preferences. Both A. mellifera and T. carbonaria demonstrated a significant preference for spectrally purer colour stimuli, although this preference is more pronounced in honey bees than in stingless bees. When all other colour cues were tightly controlled, honey bees receiving absolute conditioning demonstrated a capacity to learn a high-intensity stimulus significant from chance expectation demonstrating some capacity of plasticity for this dimension of colour perception. However, honey bees failed to learn low-intensity stimuli, and T. carbonaria was insensitive to stimulus intensity as a cue. These comparative findings suggest that there may be some common roots underpinning colour perception in bee pollinators and how they interact with flowers, although species-specific differences do exist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Koethe
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lara Reinartz
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | - Jair E. Garcia
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Building 5.2.36, City Campus, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Australia
| | - Adrian G. Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Building 5.2.36, City Campus, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Australia ,Department of Physiology, Monash University, Melbourne, 3800 Australia ,Institute of Developmental Biology and Neurobiology, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany
| | - Klaus Lunau
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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2
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Howard SR. Wild non-eusocial bees learn a colour discrimination task in response to simulated predation events. Naturwissenschaften 2021; 108:28. [PMID: 34152477 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-021-01739-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite representing the majority of bee species, non-eusocial bees (e.g. solitary, subsocial, semisocial, and quasisocial species) are comparatively understudied in learning, memory, and cognitive-like behaviour compared to eusocial bees, such as honeybees and bumblebees. Ecologically relevant colour discrimination tasks are well-studied in eusocial bees, and research has shown that a few non-eusocial bee species are also capable of colour learning and long-term memory retention. Australia hosts over 2000 native bee species, most of which are non-eusocial, yet evidence of cognitive-like behaviour and learning abilities under controlled testing conditions is lacking. In the current study, I examine the learning ability of a non-eusocial Australian bee, Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium, using aversive differential conditioning during a colour discrimination task. L. lanarium learnt to discriminate between salient blue- and yellow-coloured stimuli following training with simulated predation events. This study acts as a bridge between cognitive studies on eusocial and non-social bees and introduces a framework for testing non-eusocial wild bees on elemental visual learning tasks using aversive conditioning. Non-eusocial bee species are far more numerous than eusocial species and contribute to agriculture, economics, and ecosystem services in Australia and across the globe. Thus, it is important to study their capacity to learn flower traits allowing for successful foraging and pollination events, thereby permitting us a better understanding of their role in plant-pollinator interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scarlett R Howard
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia.
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Dyer AG, Greentree AD, Garcia JE, Dyer EL, Howard SR, Barth FG. Einstein, von Frisch and the honeybee: a historical letter comes to light. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2021; 207:449-456. [PMID: 33970340 PMCID: PMC8222030 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-021-01490-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
The work of the Nobel Laureate Karl von Frisch, the founder of this journal, was seminal in many ways. He established the honeybee as a key animal model for experimental behavioural studies on sensory perception, learning and memory, and first correctly interpreted its famous dance communication. Here, we report on a previously unknown letter by the Physicist and Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein that was written in October 1949. It briefly addresses the work of von Frisch and also queries how understanding animal perception and navigation may lead to innovations in physics. We discuss records proving that Einstein and von Frisch met in April 1949 when von Frisch visited the USA to present a lecture on bees at Princeton University. In the historical context of Einstein’s theories and thought experiments, we discuss some more recent discoveries of animal sensory capabilities alien to us humans and potentially valuable for bio-inspired design improvements. We also address the orientation of animals like migratory birds mentioned by Einstein 70 years ago, which pushes the boundaries of our understanding nature, both its biology and physics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian G Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Andrew D Greentree
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Jair E Garcia
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Elinya L Dyer
- Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia
| | - Scarlett R Howard
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, 3217, Australia
| | - Friedrich G Barth
- Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstr.14, 1090, Vienna, Austria.
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Dyer AG, Shrestha M. Assessment of floral colour signals at a community through the eyes of the birds and bees. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2019; 222:648-650. [PMID: 30895650 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian G Dyer
- Bio-inspired Digital Sensing (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Mani Shrestha
- Bio-inspired Digital Sensing (BIDS) Lab, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
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An L, Neimann A, Eberling E, Algora H, Brings S, Lunau K. The yellow specialist: dronefly Eristalis tenax prefers different yellow colours for landing and proboscis extension. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.184788. [PMID: 30190319 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.184788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Droneflies, imagoes of the hoverfly Eristalis tenax, are known to possess a preference for yellow flowers, i.e. they prefer to visit yellow flowers and prefer to extend the proboscis to yellow colours. In this study we disentangle these colour preferences by investigating the landing reaction and proboscis reflex with particular reference to intensity, spectral purity and dominant wavelength of colour stimuli and their UV reflection properties. In multiple-choice tests, naïve and non-trained flies prefer to land on yellow colours independent of their UV reflection characteristics, but also accept blue, white and pink colours if they absorb UV and are of sufficient brightness. Flies trained to land on colours other than yellow still prefer yellow colours to some extent. Moreover, the flies prefer bright over dark yellow colours even if trained to dark yellow ones. The flies refuse to land on dark colours of all hues. Naïve flies exhibit the proboscis reflex only to pure yellow pollen. These experiments show for the first time that landing in droneflies is triggered by a yellow colour independent of its UV reflection properties, but proboscis extension is triggered by yellow colours strongly absorbing blue and UV. The ability to discriminate colours is better than predicted by the categorical colour vision model. The colour preferences in E. tenax represent a fine-tuned ability to visit yellow flowers displaying a UV bull's-eye pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina An
- College of Plant Protection, Entomology Department, Hebei Agricultural University, 071000 Baoding, China.,Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alexander Neimann
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Eugen Eberling
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hanna Algora
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sebastian Brings
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Klaus Lunau
- Institute of Sensory Ecology, Biology Department, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
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Garcia JE, Spaethe J, Dyer AG. The path to colour discrimination is S-shaped: behaviour determines the interpretation of colour models. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:983-997. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1208-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Hironaka M, Kamura T, Osada M, Sasaki R, Shinoda K, Hariyama T, Miyatake T. Adults of Lasioderma serricorne and Stegobium paniceum (Anobiidae: Coleoptera) Are Attracted to Ultraviolet (UV) Over Blue Light LEDs. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2017; 110:1911-1915. [PMID: 28498915 DOI: 10.1093/jee/tox127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Two species, the cigarette beetle Lasioderma serricorne (F.) and the drugstore beetle Stegobium paniceum (L.), are particularly important stored-product pests because they damage dry food. A previous study showed that L. serricorne adults are attracted more to ultraviolet (UV) and blue light wave ranges more than others such as turquoise, green, yellow, red, and warm white. However, the previous study did not equalize the amounts of light. The study also evaluated the attractiveness by the numbers of L. serricorne individuals that were lured to LED lights in a small box in the laboratory. In some storehouses, damage by S. paniceum is more serious and establishment of an effective monitoring tool is required. Therefore, in the present study, attractions of these beetles to UV and blue light traps were compared to develop a tool to monitor the beetle pests. First, adult L. serricorne and S. paniceum beetles were provided with UV- and blue-LED panels whose light intensities were equalized in the laboratory, and the walking and flying paths of each adult were recorded and measured. As a result, adults were clearly attracted to the side of UV-LED panel by walking compared to the blue one. Second, we compared the numbers of cigarette beetles collected by sticky sheets that were set in the back of UV or blue-light LED traps in a real storehouse. The results showed that these beetles were significantly more attracted to UV than blue-light LED traps, indicating the UV-LED trap is a powerful tool to monitor these two pest species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Toru Kamura
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University
| | | | | | | | | | - Takahisa Miyatake
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University
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Why background colour matters to bees and flowers. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2017; 203:369-380. [PMID: 28478535 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-017-1175-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Flowers are often viewed by bee pollinators against a variety of different backgrounds. On the Australian continent, backgrounds are very diverse and include surface examples of all major geological stages of the Earth's history, which have been present during the entire evolutionary period of Angiosperms. Flower signals in Australia are also representative of typical worldwide evolutionary spectral adaptations that enable successful pollination. We measured the spectral properties of 581 natural surfaces, including rocks, sand, green leaves, and dry plant materials, sampled from tropical Cairns through to the southern tip of mainland Australia. We modelled in a hexagon colour space, how interactions between background spectra and flower-like colour stimuli affect reliable discrimination and detection in bee pollinators. We calculated the extent to which a given locus would be conflated with the loci of a different flower-colour stimulus using empirically determined colour discrimination regions for bee vision. Our results reveal that whilst colour signals are robust in homogeneous background viewing conditions, there could be significant pressure on plant flowers to evolve saliently-different colours to overcome background spectral noise. We thus show that perceptual noise has a large influence on how colour information can be used in natural conditions.
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Sommerlandt FMJ, Spaethe J, Rössler W, Dyer AG. Does Fine Color Discrimination Learning in Free-Flying Honeybees Change Mushroom-Body Calyx Neuroarchitecture? PLoS One 2016; 11:e0164386. [PMID: 27783640 PMCID: PMC5081207 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Honeybees learn color information of rewarding flowers and recall these memories in future decisions. For fine color discrimination, bees require differential conditioning with a concurrent presentation of target and distractor stimuli to form a long-term memory. Here we investigated whether the long-term storage of color information shapes the neural network of microglomeruli in the mushroom body calyces and if this depends on the type of conditioning. Free-flying honeybees were individually trained to a pair of perceptually similar colors in either absolute conditioning towards one of the colors or in differential conditioning with both colors. Subsequently, bees of either conditioning groups were tested in non-rewarded discrimination tests with the two colors. Only bees trained with differential conditioning preferred the previously learned color, whereas bees of the absolute conditioning group, and a stimuli-naïve group, chose randomly among color stimuli. All bees were then kept individually for three days in the dark to allow for complete long-term memory formation. Whole-mount immunostaining was subsequently used to quantify variation of microglomeruli number and density in the mushroom-body lip and collar. We found no significant differences among groups in neuropil volumes and total microglomeruli numbers, but learning performance was negatively correlated with microglomeruli density in the absolute conditioning group. Based on these findings we aim to promote future research approaches combining behaviorally relevant color learning tests in honeybees under free-flight conditions with neuroimaging analysis; we also discuss possible limitations of this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank M. J. Sommerlandt
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Johannes Spaethe
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Rössler
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Adrian G. Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Ravi S, Garcia JE, Wang C, Dyer AG. The answer is blowing in the wind: free-flying honeybees can integrate visual and mechano-sensory inputs for making complex foraging decisions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 219:3465-3472. [PMID: 27591315 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.142679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Bees navigate in complex environments using visual, olfactory and mechano-sensorial cues. In the lowest region of the atmosphere, the wind environment can be highly unsteady and bees employ fine motor-skills to enhance flight control. Recent work reveals sophisticated multi-modal processing of visual and olfactory channels by the bee brain to enhance foraging efficiency, but it currently remains unclear whether wind-induced mechano-sensory inputs are also integrated with visual information to facilitate decision making. Individual honeybees were trained in a linear flight arena with appetitive-aversive differential conditioning to use a context-setting cue of 3 m s-1 cross-wind direction to enable decisions about either a 'blue' or 'yellow' star stimulus being the correct alternative. Colour stimuli properties were mapped in bee-specific opponent-colour spaces to validate saliency, and to thus enable rapid reverse learning. Bees were able to integrate mechano-sensory and visual information to facilitate decisions that were significantly different to chance expectation after 35 learning trials. An independent group of bees were trained to find a single rewarding colour that was unrelated to the wind direction. In these trials, wind was not used as a context-setting cue and served only as a potential distracter in identifying the relevant rewarding visual stimuli. Comparison between respective groups shows that bees can learn to integrate visual and mechano-sensory information in a non-elemental fashion, revealing an unsuspected level of sensory processing in honeybees, and adding to the growing body of knowledge on the capacity of insect brains to use multi-modal sensory inputs in mediating foraging behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Ravi
- RMIT University, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
| | - Jair E Garcia
- RMIT University, School of Media and Communication, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Chun Wang
- RMIT University, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia
| | - Adrian G Dyer
- RMIT University, School of Media and Communication, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
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Shrestha M, Lunau K, Dorin A, Schulze B, Bischoff M, Burd M, Dyer AG. Floral colours in a world without birds and bees: the plants of Macquarie Island. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2016; 18:842-50. [PMID: 27016399 DOI: 10.1111/plb.12456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2016] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
We studied biotically pollinated angiosperms on Macquarie Island, a remote site in the Southern Ocean with a predominately or exclusively dipteran pollinator fauna, in an effort to understand how flower colour affects community assembly. We compared a distinctive group of cream-green Macquarie Island flowers to the flora of likely source pools of immigrants and to a continental flora from a high latitude in the northern hemisphere. We used both dipteran and hymenopteran colour models and phylogenetically informed analyses to explore the chromatic component of community assembly. The species with cream-green flowers are very restricted in colour space models of both fly vision and bee vision and represent a distinct group that plays a very minor role in other communities. It is unlikely that such a community could form through random immigration from continental source pools. Our findings suggest that fly pollination has imposed a strong ecological filter on Macquarie Island, favouring floral colours that are rare in continental floras. This is one of the strongest demonstrations that plant-pollinator interactions play an important role in plant community assembly. Future work exploring colour choices by dipteran flower visitors would be valuable.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Shrestha
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - K Lunau
- Institut für Sinnesökologie, Department Biologie, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - A Dorin
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - B Schulze
- Institut für Sinnesökologie, Department Biologie, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Bischoff
- Chemical Plant Ecology, University Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - M Burd
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - A G Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
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Kawasaki M, Kinoshita M, Weckström M, Arikawa K. Difference in dynamic properties of photoreceptors in a butterfly, Papilio xuthus: possible segregation of motion and color processing. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2015; 201:1115-23. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-015-1039-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2015] [Revised: 08/16/2015] [Accepted: 08/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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