Abstract
Each neural unit (cartridge) in the first optic ganglion (lamina) of the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis contains nine receptor cell axons (6 short and 3 long visual fibres), and four different types of first-order interneurons, also known as L-fibres (L1 to L4) or lamina monopolar cells. The short visual fibres terminate within the lamina as three different types (svf 1, 2, 3). The three long visual fibres pass through the lamina without forming characteristic branching patterns and terminate in the second optic ganglion, the medulla. The lateral branching pattern of svf 2 into adjacent cartridges is unique for hymenopterans. In addition, all four types of L-fibres show dorso-ventrally arranged, wide, lateral branching in this nocturnal bee. This is in contrast to the diurnal bees Apis mellifera and Lasioglossum leucozonium, where only two out of four L-fibre types (L2 and L4) reach neighbouring cartridges. In M. genalis, L1 forms two sub-types, viz. L1-a and L1-b; L1-b in particular has the potential to contact several neighbouring cartridges. L2 and L4 in the nocturnal bee are similar to L2 and L4 in the diurnal bees but have dorso-ventral arborisations that are twice as wide. A new type of laterally spreading L3 has been discovered in the nocturnal bee. The extensive neural branching pattern of L-fibres in M. genalis indicates a potential role for these neurons in the spatial summation of photons from large groups of ommatidia. This specific adaptation in the nocturnal bee could significantly improve reliability of vision in dim light.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Almut Kelber, Marie Dacke, Anna Balkenius and the two anonymous reviewers for critically reading the manuscript, Mikael Sörenson and Jan Tengö for taxonomical assistance, Victor Gonzales, Sara Juhl, Rikard Frederiksen and Mark Holdstock for help with fieldwork, the staff of the Smithonian Tropical Research Institute for their helpfulness, and the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente of the Republic of Panama for permission to export bees.
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B.G. is grateful for travel awards from the Royal Physiographic Society, the Per Westlings Fond, the Foundation of Dagny and Eilert Ekvall and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. E.J.W. acknowledges the receipt of a Smithsonian Short-Term Research Fellowship and thanks the Swedish Research Council, the Crafoord Foundation, the Wenner–Gren Foundation and the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund for their ongoing support. W.T.W. was supported by general research funds from the Smithonian Tropical Research Institute
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Greiner, B., Ribi, W.A., Wcislo, W.T. et al. Neural organisation in the first optic ganglion of the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis. Cell Tissue Res 318, 429–437 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-004-0945-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-004-0945-z