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Review
. 2010 Apr 6;7 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S207-25.
doi: 10.1098/rsif.2009.0526.focus. Epub 2010 Jan 27.

Magnetoreception in eusocial insects: an update

Eliane Wajnberg  1 , Daniel Acosta-Avalos, Odivaldo Cambraia Alves, Jandira Ferreira de Oliveira, Robert B Srygley, Darci M S Esquivel
Affiliations
Review

Magnetoreception in eusocial insects: an update

Eliane Wajnberg et al. J R Soc Interface. .

Abstract

Behavioural experiments for magnetoreception in eusocial insects in the last decade are reviewed. Ants and bees use the geomagnetic field to orient and navigate in areas around their nests and along migratory paths. Bees show sensitivity to small changes in magnetic fields in conditioning experiments and when exiting the hive. For the first time, the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles found in eusocial insects, obtained by magnetic techniques and electron microscopy, are reviewed. Different magnetic oxide nanoparticles, ranging from superparamagnetic to multi-domain particles, were observed in all body parts, but greater relative concentrations in the abdomens and antennae of honeybees and ants have focused attention on these segments. Theoretical models for how these specific magnetosensory apparatuses function have been proposed. Neuron-rich ant antennae may be the most amenable to discovering a magnetosensor that will greatly assist research into higher order processing of magnetic information. The ferromagnetic hypothesis is believed to apply to eusocial insects, but interest in a light-sensitive mechanism is growing. The diversity of compass mechanisms in animals suggests that multiple compasses may function in insect orientation and navigation. The search for magnetic compasses will continue even after a magnetosensor is discovered in eusocial insects.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) The geomagnetic field vector F and the positive convention for the declination (D) and inclination (I) angles relative to its horizontal component (Fhor) and the geographical North (N), South (S), West (W) and East (E). Z is the gravity vector (Northern Hemisphere condition). (b) Geomagnetic field components F, D and I as a function of time of day on 5 May 2001 (dotted line) and of a magnetic storm day (6 November 2001, solid line). Data from the National Observatory, Vassouras, Brazil.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Experimentally distinguishing an inclination compass from a polarity compass. The example given is for an ant colony located in the Northern Hemisphere (north of the magnetic equator). (a) The natural condition; (b–d) three experimental conditions: (b) polarity reversed, inclination unchanged; (c) polarity unchanged, inclination reversed; (d) polarity reversed, inclination reversed. Top box: the poleward and equatorward directions sensed with an inclination compass in each treatment; middle box: the northward and southward directions sensed with a polarity compass; and bottom box: the predicted orientation of homing ants using an inclination compass or a polarity compass when the true direction of the nest is to the south and towards the equator. (c,d) ‘True’ indicates a magnetic orientation under the altered magnetic field vector that is indistinguishable from that in natural conditions. Solid arrows, orientations of the magnetic field; vertical dashed arrows, gravity; curved lines indicate the poleward directions relative to gravity that are predicted to be sensed by an inclination compass.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Different arrangements of SPM particles based on observations of animal tissues. (a) Magnetic deformation of a cell assuming one single cluster of SPM particles based on Scherbakov & Winklhofer (1999). In the absence of the magnetic field, it is spherical. Under an external field, it is magnetized parallel to the field, inducing a prolate shape with the long axis parallel to the field. Small arrows indicate the magnetic moment of individual particles. (b) A chain of interacting clusters linked to the cell membrane based on Davila et al. (2003). No deformation in the absence of the magnetic field. If the magnetic field is parallel to the chain, the clusters attract each other, shrinking the cell. If the field is perpendicular to the chain, there is elongation of the cell. Small arrows indicate the magnetic moments of the clusters. (c) Diagram of a transverse section of the cell-like structure with particles surrounding it observed in the pedicel–scape joint of the antennae of a migratory ant. The ellipsoid axes 2a, 2b and 2c are shown as in Oliveira et al. (2010). In the presence of a magnetic field oblique to the long axis of the structure, a magnetic torque appears and biases the mechanical one. H, the applied magnetic field.
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References

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