Honey bees are far more precise navigators than scientists once realized. Researchers at the University of Freiburg have discovered that individual honey bees follow their own highly consistent flight routes and can repeat them with remarkable accuracy, relying on landmarks in the landscape to stay on course.
The study was led by neurobiologist and behavioral biologist Prof. Dr. Andrew Straw, whose team used a drone to monitor honey bees traveling between their hive and a food source located about 120 meters away in an agricultural setting.
To track the insects during flight, the researchers used a technique called 'Fast Lock-On (FLO) Tracking', developed by Straw's research group. The method involves attaching a tiny reflective marker to each bee. A computer mounted on the drone analyzes reflected light and can identify and track a bee within milliseconds as it flies.
The observations revealed that each honey bee follows its own preferred route and maintains that path with exceptional accuracy on both outbound and return trips. The bees also appear to use features in the surrounding landscape to help guide their journeys.
"Our tracking system makes it possible for the first time to record high-resolution 3D flight paths of honey bees in natural landscapes," explains Straw. "Our recordings show that each bee has its own preferred route and flies it very precisely. You could almost say that each bee has its own personality."
