Regional specialization for an optomotor response in the honeybee compound eye

ABSTRACT. The optomotor head-turning response of the honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) to a horizontally moving stripe pattern was analysed after occlusion of specific regions of the compound eye. The dorsal half of the eye and the medial region appear to be irrelevant to this behavioural reflex. Occlusion of the ventrolateral portion of the eye, however, even with the remainder of the eye unoccluded, rendered the optomotor system blind. The optomotor response was found to be mediated by an area roughly equal to one-fifth of the total eye surface with some redundancy in the system, since occlusion of at least half of the zone did not significantly impair the response. These results support the hypothesis of physically separate visual subsystems in the bee eye which are adapted for different functions.