  Bees display the remarkable ability to return home in a straight line after
meandering excursions to their environment. Neurobiological imaging studies
have revealed that this capability emerges from a path integration mechanism
implemented within the insect's brain. In the present work, we emulate this
neural network on the neuromorphic mixed-signal processor BrainScaleS-2 to
guide bees, virtually embodied on a digital co-processor, back to their home
location after randomly exploring their environment. To realize the underlying
neural integrators, we introduce single-neuron spike-based short-term memory
cells with axo-axonic synapses. All entities, including environment, sensory
organs, brain, actuators, and the virtual body, run autonomously on a single
BrainScaleS-2 microchip. The functioning network is fine-tuned for better
precision and reliability through an evolution strategy. As BrainScaleS-2
emulates neural processes 1000 times faster than biology, 4800 consecutive bee
journeys distributed over 320 generations occur within only half an hour on a
single neuromorphic core.
