Polarization-Sensitive Interneurons in the Optic Lobe of the Desert Ant Cataglyphis bicolor

2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Labhart
Keyword(s):  
Optic Lobe ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

scholarly journals Allometry in desert ant locomotion (Cataglyphis albicans and Cataglyphis bicolor) – does body size matter?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Tross ◽  
Harald Wolf ◽  
Sarah Elisabeth Pfeffer
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Walking Speeds ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

Desert ants show a large range of adaptations to their habitats. They can reach extremely high running speeds, for example, to shorten heat stress during foraging trips. It has recently been examined how fast walking speeds are achieved in different desert ant species. It is intriguing in this context that some species exhibit distinct intraspecific size differences. We therefore performed a complete locomotion analysis over the entire size spectrum of the species Cataglyphis bicolor, and we compared this intraspecific data set with that of the allometrically similar species Cataglyphis albicans. Emphasis was on the allometry of locomotion: we considered the body size of each animal and analysed the data in terms of relative walking speed. Body size was observed to affect walking parameters, gait patterns and phase relations in terms of absolute walking speed. Unexpectedly, on a relative scale, all ants tended to show the same overall locomotion strategy at slow walking speeds, and significant differences occurred only between C. albicans and C. bicolor at high walking speeds. Our analysis revealed that C. bicolor ants use the same overall strategy across all body sizes, with small ants reaching the highest walking speeds (up to 80 body lengths s−1) by increasing their stride lengths and incorporating aerial phases. By comparison, C. albicans reached high walking speeds mainly by a high synchrony of leg movement, lower swing phase durations and higher stride frequencies ranging up to 40 Hz.

Terminations of photoreceptor axons from different regions of the compound eye of the desert ant Cataglyphis bicolor

1986 ◽  
Vol 228 (1250) ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Compound Eye ◽  
Second Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Regional Specialization ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Monopolar Cell ◽  
New Type ◽  
Dorsal Retina ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

The morphology of the photoreceptors from different regions of the desert an t’s compound eye is investigated by Golgi-impregnations and anterograde or retrograde haem peptide filling, combined with electron microscopy. A new type of receptor axon is described. This receptor is of the short (svf) type but terminates in the proximal layer of the lamina (epl-C), in contrast to the other short visual fibres, which terminate in the distal layer (epl-A) : Golgi-EM investigations show that this receptor axon belongs to the small photoreceptor R9. The receptor R9 appears to be pre- and postsynaptic to other receptor axons and to second order neurons. In each ommatidium, the axons of the two long photoreceptors (lvf) R1 and R5 (probably uv-receptors) remain paired down to their terminations in the distal layer of the medulla. The regional specialization of the retina (dorsal rim area (dra), dorsal retina (dr) and ventral retina (vr)) is reflected by the morphology of the receptor terminals and the second order neurons. The lamina underlying the dra consists of only one layer, an extended epl-A; in the remainder of the eye, the lamina is trilateral. In the dra all short visual fibres (svf) are equal in length. The extension of the monopolar cell dendrites is restricted to one cartridge only. In the medulla, the terminals of the lvfs deriving from the dra (R1 and R5) have more extensive arborizations than elsewhere in the eye.

scholarly journals Ocelli contribute to the encoding of celestial compass information in the Australian desert ant Melophorus bagoti

2011 ◽  
Vol 214 (6) ◽  
pp. 901-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Schwarz ◽  
L. Albert ◽  
A. Wystrach ◽  
K. Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Desert Ant ◽  
Celestial Compass ◽  
Melophorus Bagoti
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