Summary
Light propagates along the bee rhabdom in the form of patterns known as modes. The modes convey information about the polarization and direction of the incident light. We show theoretically, using electromagnetic theory, that the fine structure of the worker bee rhabdom can detect this polarization and directional information, and that the rhabdomeres do not all have the same field of view for off axis light.
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Queen Elizabeth II Fellow.
We thank Professor G. A. Horridge and Simon Laughlin for their assistance with this study.
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Snyder, A.W., Pask, C. Detection of polarization and direction by the bee rhabdom. J. Comp. Physiol. 78, 346–355 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01417941
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01417941