Bees, along with wasps and ants are classed within Insecta, under the order Hymenoptera. The bees sit under the subclass Apocrita. Although some may assume the humble bee lacks higher order thinking and the capability to engage in complex thought processes, it is in fact an organism that will astound you. The honey bee is known for its evolved eusocial behaviours, the ability to communicate, an advanced heating system, a remarkable navigation system and even an aptitude in learning symbols, colours, scents and routes (Srinivasan 2010).
The bee brain and compound eyes are key structures in learning processes, vision, reaction to external stimuli and processing of information from sensory systems. Although the brain of a bee is a mere 1mm cubed, its small size does not constitute a lack of higher order thinking (Morrison 2014). The bee brain weighs less than 1mg and has fewer than a million neurons, in comparison to a human brain, which has more than 100 billion neurons (Srinivasan 2010). Bees have many sensory organs, which transmit signal cues from external stimuli to the brain where they are processed. Figure 1 shows the anatomy of a common bee, in this case a female.
The bee brain and compound eyes are key structures in learning processes, vision, reaction to external stimuli and processing of information from sensory systems. Although the brain of a bee is a mere 1mm cubed, its small size does not constitute a lack of higher order thinking (Morrison 2014). The bee brain weighs less than 1mg and has fewer than a million neurons, in comparison to a human brain, which has more than 100 billion neurons (Srinivasan 2010). Bees have many sensory organs, which transmit signal cues from external stimuli to the brain where they are processed. Figure 1 shows the anatomy of a common bee, in this case a female.
Bees have one set of compound eyes, as well as three dorsal ocelli that are light sensitive (Fig. 2). The compound eyes are complex and are made up of thousands of ommatidia, which consist of a small lens for focusing onto photoreceptors, where transmission to the brain occurs (Wakakuwa et al. 2007). There are three different classes of ommatidia, UV sensitive, blue sensitive and green sensitive (Srinivasan 2010).
The brain and compound eyes of a bee are the main physiological features that contribute to the many complex and clever habits.
Cover photo- Photo by Louise Docker © 2011.
Fig. 1- Image by Alex Surcicã © 2013.
Fig. 2- Photo by Bob Peterson © 2014.
Fig. 1- Image by Alex Surcicã © 2013.
Fig. 2- Photo by Bob Peterson © 2014.