Magnetite in the abdomen and antennae of Apis mellifera honeybees.

The detection of magnetic fields by animals is known as magnetoreception. The ferromagnetic hypothesis explains magnetoreception assuming that magnetic nanoparticles are used as magnetic field transducers. Magnetite nanoparticles in the abdomen of Apis mellifera honeybees have been proposed in the literature as the magnetic field transducer. However, studies with ants and stingless bees have shown that the whole body of the insect contain magnetic material, and that the largest magnetization is in the antennae. The aim of the present study is to investigate the magnetization of all the body parts of honeybees as has been done with ants and stingless bees. To do that, the head without antennae, antennae, thorax, and abdomen obtained from Apis mellifera honeybees were analyzed using magnetometry and Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) techniques. The magnetometry and FMR measurements show the presence of magnetic material in all honeybee body parts. Our results present evidence of the presence of biomineralized magnetite nanoparticles in the honeybee abdomen and, for the first time, magnetite in the antennae. FMR measurements permit to identify the magnetite in the abdomen as biomineralized. As behavioral experiments reported in the literature have shown that the abdomen is involved in magnetoreception, new experimental approaches must be done to confirm or discard the involvement of the antennae in magnetoreception.

Magnetic nanoparticles in the body parts of Polistes versicolor and Polybia paulista wasps are biomineralized: evidence from magnetization measurements and ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The detection of the geomagnetic field by animals to use as a cue in homing and migration is known as magnetoreception. The ferromagnetic hypothesis explains magnetoreception assuming that magnetic nanoparticles in cellular structures are used as magnetic field transducers. Considering magnetoreception in social insects, the most studied has been the honeybee Apis mellifera and only in two wasp species (Vespa orientalis and Polybia paulista) have been shown a magnetosensitive behavior. In the present report the body parts (abdomen, head and antennae) of Polistes versicolor and Polybia paulista wasps were studied aiming to find biomineralized magnetic nanoparticles, using magnetometry measurements and ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The magnetometry measurements show the presence of magnetic nanoparticles in all body parts, being characterized as mixtures of superparamagnetic, single domain and pseudo-single domain nanoparticles. From the ferromagnetic resonance spectra were obtained the asymmetry ratio A and the effective g factor geff, and those parameters are consistent with the presence of biomineralized magnetic nanoparticles in both wasps. In the case of Polybia paulista, the magnetic nanoparticles can be associated with some sort of magnetosensor once this wasp is magnetosensitive. For Polistes versicolor, the results indicate that this wasp can be magnetosensitive as Polybia paulista once their magnetic nanoparticles are biomineralized in the body. Behavioral studies with Polistes versicolor wasps deserve to be performed.

U-turn trajectories of magnetotactic cocci allow the study of the correlation between their magnetic moment, volume and velocity.

Magnetotactic bacteria are microorganisms that present intracellular chains of magnetic nanoparticles, the magnetosome chain. A challenge in the study of magnetotactic bacteria is the measurement of the magnetic moment associated with the magnetosome chain. Several techniques have been used to estimate the average magnetic moment of a population of magnetotactic bacteria, and others permit the measurement of the magnetic moment of individual bacteria. The U-turn technique allows the measurement of the individual magnetic moment and other parameters associated with the movement and magnetotaxis, such as the velocity and the orientation angle of the trajectory relative to the applied magnetic field. The aim of the present paper is to use the U-turn technique in a population of uncultured magnetotactic cocci to measure the magnetic moment, the volume, orientation angle and velocity for the same individuals. Our results showed that the magnetic moment is distributed in a log-normal distribution, with a mean value of 8.2 × 10-15 Am2 and median of 5.4 × 10-15 Am2. An estimate of the average magnetic moment using the average value of the orientation cosine produces a value similar to the median of the distribution and to the average magnetic moment obtained using transmission electron microscopy. A strong positive correlation is observed between the magnetic moment and the volume. There is no correlation between the magnetic moment and the orientation cosine and between the magnetic moment and the velocity. Those null correlations can be explained by our current understanding of magnetotaxis.

Magnetoreception in eusocial insects: an update.

Behavioural experiments for magnetoreception in eusocial insects in the last decade are reviewed. Ants and bees use the geomagnetic field to orient and navigate in areas around their nests and along migratory paths. Bees show sensitivity to small changes in magnetic fields in conditioning experiments and when exiting the hive. For the first time, the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles found in eusocial insects, obtained by magnetic techniques and electron microscopy, are reviewed. Different magnetic oxide nanoparticles, ranging from superparamagnetic to multi-domain particles, were observed in all body parts, but greater relative concentrations in the abdomens and antennae of honeybees and ants have focused attention on these segments. Theoretical models for how these specific magnetosensory apparatuses function have been proposed. Neuron-rich ant antennae may be the most amenable to discovering a magnetosensor that will greatly assist research into higher order processing of magnetic information. The ferromagnetic hypothesis is believed to apply to eusocial insects, but interest in a light-sensitive mechanism is growing. The diversity of compass mechanisms in animals suggests that multiple compasses may function in insect orientation and navigation. The search for magnetic compasses will continue even after a magnetosensor is discovered in eusocial insects.

Brazilian ants diversity and the local geomagnetic field: a ferromagnetic resonance study.

Ants have the ability of homing and some species can migrate or move over long distances (nomadic). The presence of magnetic particles as geomagnetic sensors is the most accepted hypothesis to explain ant orientation mechanisms. The room temperature Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) spectra of migratory, nomadic, arboreal, trap-jaw and fire ants, applied to 11 samples are presented. The spectra were studied taking into account two components: the low field (LF) with a maximum at gmax values higher than 8 and the high field (HF) at the geff=2.1 with a linewidth of about 900 Oe. This study tests the systematization plausibility of ant magnetic material characteristics based on absorption spectra area and the ratios between the peak-to-peak amplitude spectral components (LF/HF). The HF component predominates in the spectra of the migratory and one nomadic ant, while the LF is the dominant one in the arboreal and six fire ants studied. The Solenopsis absorption spectra area, proportional to the magnetic material amount, increases as the local magnetic field intensity increases, suggesting an adaptation of these ants to the magnetic environment characteristic.