Bees have trichromatic vision, meaning they can see three primary colors (red, green, and blue), but they have a remarkable ability to detect a broader range of colors. Researchers collected reflectance and color data from the petals of legumes pollinated by bees in the campo rupestre, cerrado, and Mediterranean shrubland using a spectrometer. The results surprised them, as bees are.
That's good news for the bees, of course, but it also makes it more likely that some of the flower's pollen will stick to a bee and be inadvertently deposited in another flower. How do we know what bees can see? For one thing, there is a long history of behavior experiments based on training bees to respond to specific colors. Beyond color, select flowers with strong, appealing scents and varied shapes that offer easy access to nectar and pollen.
Planting a diverse range of species ensures a continuous bloom throughout the growing season, providing a consistent food source for bees from early spring until late autumn. Unravel the language of flowers, color, shape, etc. Learn how bee see flowers in a very different way than humans.
Discover which flower colors attract bees most effectively. Learn how UV patterns and bloom shapes influence pollinator visits for thriving gardens. Bees use their compound eyes, UV vision, and color range to detect flowers and nectar.
They can see various colors, including ultraviolet (UV) light, and are particularly attracted to blue and purple flowers. Bees don't see the same flower color that we do. The UV patterns on the petals of a flower can be compared to the landing deck of an aircraft carrier.
Those patterns guide the bee to land at the nectar source. It also explains how bees are able to select a particular species of flower from a field of white flowers. Many violet-blue flowers produce high volumes of nectar, reinforcing bees' preference for these hues.
Some flowers exhibit "bee's purple," a combination of yellow and ultraviolet light, creating a color humans cannot perceive but is highly attractive to bees. So how do bees see flowers? Do they interpret petal colors like we do? Not exactly. A bee can't see all the colors that humans can see, but they see others that we can't.
For example, honeybees (and, in fact, most insects) see colors like green and blue just fine, but they can't see red very well. They see purple especially well. The Biology of Bee Vision Bees see flowers in a way that's vastly different from humans, with compound eyes and simple eyes working together to gather an incredible amount of visual information.
In this section, we'll explore how their unique vision helps them navigate and find nectar-rich blooms. Ultraviolet Light and Flower Color When it comes to attracting bees to flowers, ultraviolet.