Behavioral control and changes in brain activity of honeybee during flapping

Abstract

Introduction: Insect cyborg is a kind of novel robot based on insect-machine interface and principles of neurobiology. The key idea is to stimulate live insects by specific stimuli; thus, the flight trajectory of insects could be controlled as anticipated. However, the neuroregulatory mechanism of insect flight has not been elucidated completely at present. Methods:To explore the neuro-mechanism of insect flight behaviors, a series of electrical stimulation was applied on the optic lobes of semi-constrained honeybees. Times of flight initiation, flapping frequency, and duration were recorded by a high-speed camera. In addition, flapping and steering initiation experiments of the cyborg honeybee were verified. Moreover, series of local field potential signals of optic lobes during flapping were collected, pre-processed to remove baseline wander and DC components, then analyzed by power spectrum estimation.Results: A quantitative optimization method and optimal stimulation parameters of flight initiation were presented. Stimulation results showed that the flapping duration differed greatly while the flapping frequency varied with little difference among different individuals. Moreover, there was always a fluctuation peak around 20-30 Hz in power spectral density (PSD) curves during flapping, distinguishing from calm state, which indicated some brain activity changes during flapping. Conclusions:Our study presented a range of relatively optimal electrical parameters to initiate honeybee flight behavior. Meanwhile, the regularity of flapping duration and flapping frequency under electrical stimulations with different parameters were given.The feasibility of controlling a honeybee's flight behavior by brain electrical stimulation was verified through the flapping and steering initiation experiment of honeybees under semi-constrained state. PSD fluctuations reflected changes in brain activity during flapping and that those fluctuation characteristics at the specific frequency band could be sensitive determinants to distinguish whether the honeybee was flying or not, which benefits our understanding of honeybee's flapping behavior and furthers the study of honeybee cyborgs.

Division of Labor among Worker Bees Is Associated with the Lipidomic Plasticity in Their Brains

“…During the late stages of their life cycle (day , worker bees switch from working in the hive to foraging outside for pollen, propolis, nectar, and water until they die. Honeybees with various laborious tasks displayed highly organized social behaviors that are associated with the activities of their brain, making it a perfect model to study the connection between brain function and social behaviors [1,4,5].…”

Physiological Signatures of Changes in Honeybee’s Central Complex During Wing Flapping

“…To explain a specific behavior of insects, it is an effective way to collect the electrophysiological signals for analysis ( Horcholle-Bossavit et al 2007 , Hu et al 2019 , Zhao et al 2020 , Ding et al 2021 ). Here, we analyzed the local field potentials (LFPs) in the CX of honeybees during flapping and obtained the rhythmic changes and nonlinear dynamic changes of neural activities.…”