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The honey bee has a pair of large, “compound” eyes that are readily visible on the lateral aspect of the head (left and right), and three miniscule “simple” eyes, called the ocelli, that are arranged in a triangular pattern on the top of the head. Honey bees are remarkably “hairy” under magnification, and these hairs include the compound eyes (Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.1 A photograph showing the three members of the honey bee hive – drones, workers, and the queen.

Source: Photo courtesy of Randy Oliver.

Figure 3.2 External anatomy of the honey bee.

Source: Illustration by Patrick D. Wilson.

Figure 3.3 Magnified view of a honey bee compound eye. The hexagonal shape of the ommatidia are visible.

Source: Photo courtesy of Jamie Perkins.

The compound eyes are composed of approximately 5500 hexagonal “ommatidia.” An ommatidium can be thought of as an individual eye, each with a sensory (optic) nerve, that sends its own unique signals to the brain. Collectively, the input from these 5500 “eyes” compose what the honey bee “sees.”

Figure 3.4 The three ocelli are indicated by the small arrows.

Source: Photo courtesy of Zachary Y. Huang.

However, it is presumptuous to assume that the honey bee perceives its environment the same way we see or visually sense our environment. Although bees are considered to possess true color vision, the wavelengths to which a honey bee eye is sensitive ranges from 344 to 556 nm – a lower limit which supports the assumption that honey bee vision extends into the ultraviolet wavelengths (Kelber et al. 2003; Avarguès‐Weber et al. 2012).

The three ocelli, or simple eyes, are difficult to see without magnification. Each has a single lens, but each eye contains approximately 800 photoreceptors. The ocelli are believed to function simply as light sensors; they do not form an image (Figure 3.4).

Antennae are segmented sensory structures that in honey bees contain chemo and other sensory receptors. The honey bee's antennae provide direct tactile, thermal, and humidity information as well as sensing vibrations and detecting pheromones in the surrounding air (Figure 3.5).