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Science 1 July 1994:
Vol. 265. no. 5168, pp. 95 - 97
DOI: 10.1126/science.265.5168.95
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Articles

Magnetoreception in Honeybees

Chin-Yuan Hsu 1 and Chia-Wel Li 2

1 Institute of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
2 Institute of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, and National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China

Correspondence should be addressed at National Tsing Hua University

Magnetoreception by honeybees (Apis mellifera) is demonstrated by such activities as comb building and homing orientation, which are affected by the geomagnetic field. In other magnetoreceptive species, iron oxide crystals in the form of magnetite have been shown to be necessary for primary detection of magnetic fields. Here it is shown that trophocytes, which are apparently the only iron granule—containing cells in honeybees, contain super-paramagnetic magnetite. These cells are innervated by the nervous system, which suggests that trophocytes might be primarily responsible for magnetoreception. Electron microscopy also shows cytoskeletal attachments to the iron granule membrane.

Submitted on January 11, 1994
Accepted on May 5, 1994


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