Landmark learning and guidance in insects

Abstract

Insects use terrestrial landmarks both for retrieving important places in their environment, like a nest, and for guiding their way along frequently travelled routes. Places are pinpointed by a form of image matching: the insect moves to maximize the fit between the image on its retina and its memory of surrounding landmarks as viewed from close to the goal. In this case, the insect’s stored representation seems to be a filtered but relatively unprocessed replica of the image falling on the retina, which is parsed for features like the position and orientation of edges, their speed of motion and their colour. Routes need not be defined so precisely and landmarks are then employed in less demanding ways.