Angular sensitivity of the retinula cells of dark-adapted worker bee

SummaryElectrophysiological determination of the angular sensitivity of 16 worker bee retinula cells gives a value for horizontal acceptance angle of 2.5°±0.4° (S.D.) and for vertical acceptance angle of 2.7°±0.8° (S.D.).This value is in agreement with previous behavioural studies, but is clearly at variance with a recent analysis of the ommatidial dioptric by ray optics, which gives a value of 5° for the acceptance angle. It is suggested that this results from the failure of ray optics to take diffraction effects into account.

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