Computational Neuroethology
Visual navigation in insects
The Straw Lab combines custom tracking systems, virtual reality, and quantitative modeling to understand the computational and neural principles by which insects find their way through the world.
Research
Individual bees navigate with surprising precision
Using novel drone-based 3D tracking in the field, the Straw Lab follows individual honey bees over long distances and finds that they develop idiosyncratic, highly repeatable flight paths shaped by the visual structure of the landscape.
Bee navigationSpatial navigation, written in neural circuits
From visual control of flight to path integration toward a remembered goal, the fly solves navigation problems with a brain that can be read genetically. The lab connects these circuits to behavior using quantitative tracking and immersive virtual reality.
Fly navigationBuilding the instruments science needs
From multi-camera 3D tracking to fast lock-on outdoor tracking and drone-mounted cameras, the lab develops open-source tools that expand what can be measured in freely behaving animals.
Software & toolsIn the news
- Badische Zeitung Freiburger Forscher folgen fliegenden Bienen per Drohne – und lernen dabei Neues 19 March 2026
- tagesschau.de So präzise fliegen Honigbienen 25 February 2026
- Spektrum.de Jede Biene fliegt ihre ganz persönliche Route 18 February 2026
- Science This tracking system could change how we observe insects mid-flight 4 April 2025
Posts
- Subscribe to our email announcement list 24 Mar 2025
- Insect Vision and Navigation Symposium, 19 Oct 2024 30 Sep 2024
- lab portrait, fall 2023 22 Nov 2023
- Job: Scientist (postdoc) in neuroethology of insect navigation (f/m/d) 09 Feb 2023
- lab portrait, winter 2023 07 Feb 2023