This symposium highlights recent work in the field of insect vision and navigation and is held on the occasion of Andrew Straw's 50th birthday.

Bees are one of nature's marvels, not least because of their ability to remember and communicate locations on the kilometer scale using a tiny brain. While the mechanistic basis for these abilities remains unknown, outlines of possible solutions are becoming clear. In the past decade, a new synthesis has emerged that draws on a long history of research in fields like insect behavior and neurobiology as well as important new findings building on recent technological innovations. This synthesis proposes neural circuits based on deep knowledge gained using molecular genetic tools and connectomics in Drosophila with complementary research on species such as the honey bee Apis mellifera with their easily studied navigational abilities.

The future will see continued progress as new results are used to refine older ideas and build new hypotheses. Ideas about how brain circuits—including visual and other sensory systems, mushroom bodies, and central complex—might form the basis of a conserved insect navigation ability will be tested. Work in different species and taxa will be informative about both general principles and specializations.

Given ongoing insect declines and the importance of insects to pollination of crops and in natural ecosystems, the topic of insect navigation is timely. A better understanding of insect navigation may point to key aspects of climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use that have specific effects which can be mitigated with sufficient knowledge. Furthermore, insight into the molecular, cellular, and circuit function of navigating insect brains serves as a useful reference for understanding the human brain and building better artificial intelligence.

Based on this as a starting point, this symposium features talks from researchers active in the field of insect vision, memory and navigation who use either Drosophila or bees as their study organisms.

Schedule

Location: Lecture Hall, Institute of Biology I, 1st floor

To ensure adequate time for a healthy discussion, speakers are asked to prepare 20 minute talks.