Many insects use patterns of polarized light in the sky to orient and navigate. Here, we
functionally characterize neural circuitry in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, that …

Many animals rely on a sun compass for spatial orientation and long-range navigation. In
addition to the Sun, insects also exploit the polarization pattern and chromatic gradient of the …

Many insects exploit skylight polarization as a compass cue for orientation and navigation. In
the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, photoreceptors R7 and R8 in the dorsal rim area …

Many animals use celestial cues for spatial orientation. These include the sun and, in
insects, the polarization pattern of the sky, which depends on the position of the sun. The …

Highlights•Animals compare current and desired headings to initiate steering during
navigation.•The insect central complex (CX) encodes head-direction (current heading).•A …

Many insects exploit skylight polarization for visual compass orientation or course control. As
found in crickets, the peripheral visual system (optic lobe) contains three types of …

Color and polarization provide complementary information about the world and are detected
by specialized photoreceptors. However, the downstream neural circuits that process these …

Many insects navigate by integrating the distances and directions travelled on an outward
path, allowing direct return to the starting point. Fundamental to the reliability of this process …

Visual systems transduce, process and transmit light-dependent environmental cues.
Computation of visual features depends on photoreceptor neuron types (PR) present …

Migrating monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) use a time-compensated sun compass to
navigate from eastern North America to their overwintering grounds in central Mexico. Here …