Temperate

Tropical

Subtropical

1000km

Aussie crops: & individual differences in bees and plasticity to adapt.

Adrian G. DyerRMIT University & Monash University

Mango trees bursting with flowers on a plantation near Kununurra, WA. ABC Landline

Stanley 600 – 800 m ASL, 48 inch ann. rain.Varieties inc Gala, Fuji, Cameo, Red Dels, Cripps Pink, Granny Smith. + PearsProduction ca. 6-10 thousand bins / 500 hect. for domestic market.

NH

Dyer AG, Boyd-Gerny S, McLoughlin S, Rosa MGP, Simonov V, Wong BBM (2012). Proc Roy Soc B 279: 3606-3615.

Parallel evolution of angiosperm colour signals: common evolutionary pressures linked to hymenopteran vision

Insect& Bird

Bird

Insect

Shrestha M, Dyer AG, Boyd-Gerny S, Wong BBM, Burd M (2013) New Phytologist 198:301-310

Burd, Stayton, Shrestha, Dyer 2014 Proc. R. Soc. B 281: 20132862.

Alpine (n=62) >3600m-4200m

(n=75)800-1400m

Shrestha , Dyer, Bhattarai , Burd (2014) J of Ecology 102, 126-135.

Nepalese Himalayas

A controlled illumination environment for bumblebee experiments.

Bees learn colour tasks differently depending upon conditioning.

Dyer & Chittka (2004) Naturwissenschaften 91, 224-227.Giurfa (2004) Naturwissenschaften 91, 228-331.

Bees learn colour tasks differently depending upon conditioning.

Dyer & Chittka (2004) Naturwissenschaften 91, 224-227.

abs diff

Dyer, Paulk & Reser (2011) Proc Roy Soc B 278: 952–959.

*Interestingly, the population of neurons exhibited a higher degree of spike time precision (a measure of how well-timed the spikes are relative to the stimulus) compared with the population of posterior-projecting neurons

C

B

A

10 0 c m

70 c m

44 c m

70 c m

50 c m 17 5 c m

15 c m 15 c m

15 c

m

20 c m

Flug a re naVid e o ka m e ra

Pro je kto r

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Response time (sec)

Perc

ent c

orre

ct c

hoic

es

sugar vs water

sugar vs quinine

Bees exhibit speed for accuracy tradeoffs in colour discrimination

r = 0.963, p<0.001

r = 0.723, p<0.05

Chittka, Dyer, Bock & Dornhaus (2003) Nature 424, 388.

Bees trade off speed for accuracy tradeoffs in colour discrimination tasks

Burns & Dyer (2008). Diversity of speed-accuracy strategies benefits social insects. Current Biology 18, R953–R954.

Honeybee

Bumblebee Bumblebee

Honeybee

With differential conditioning to a simultaneous colour discrimination task honeybee colour discrimination was significantly better than bumblebee for both blue and yellow colours.

Dyer, Spaethe & Prack (2008) J Comp Physiol A 194: 617–627

In honeybees the Green receptor is responsible for achromatic vision when the target is at small visual angles (5<a<15º).

All 3 receptors provide input to a colour opponent system to enable colour vision for stimuli subtending a large visual angle (>15º).

Giurfa et al. (1996) J Comp Physiol A 178, 699-709.

Bumblebee detection of stimuli

Stimulus 33N provides colour, but no G-receptor contrast and bumblebees still detect this target at a visual angle of <3º, but honeybees require the same stimulus to subtend an angle of >15º.

Honeybee

Dyer, Spaethe & Prack (2008) J Comp Physiol A 194: 617–627

Trigona cf. fuscipennis, a stingless bee species fromCosta Rica

Spaethe et al. (2014) Behavioural evidence of colour vision in free flying stingless bees. J Comp Physiol A 10.1007/s00359-014-0886-2.

von Frisch (1914) Der Farbensinn und Formensinn der Biene. ZoolJahrb Allg Zool 35:1–188

Avargues-Weber, Dyer & Giurfa. (2011) Proc Roy Soc. B 278, 898-905.

Conceptualization of above and below relationships by an insect

Avargues-Weber, Dyer & Giurfa. (2011) Proc Roy Soc. B 278, 898-905.

N=8; **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Simultaneous mastering of two abstract concepts with a miniature brain

Avarguès-Weber A, Dyer AG, Combe M, Giurfa M (2012) Proc Nat Acad Sci (USA) 109, 7481-7486

Bees were allowed to visit similarly coloured flowers (these could be discriminated following differential conditioning) for 100 visits.

N = 10 bees/group, flowers were either at the same temperature (control) or differed by 8ºC.

Can bees bind visual and temperature cues?

Dyer, Whitney, Arnold, Glover & Chittka (2006) Nature 442, 525.

Norgate M, Boyd-Gerny S, Simonov V, Rosa MGP, Heard TA, Dyer AG (2010) PLoS ONE 5(8): e12000.

Acknowledgements

Martin GiurfaAurore Avargues-WeberChrista NeumeyerLars ChittkaJohannes SpaetheMarcello RosaAlan DorinDavid Reser.

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Australian Research Council: DP0878968 /DP0987989/ DP130100015

Questions?

Adrian G Dyer: adrian.dyer@rmit.edu.au