A bee's eye view of remarkable floral colour patterns in the south-west Australian biodiversity hotspot revealed by false colour photography.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Colour pattern is a key cue of bee attraction selectively driving the appeal of pollinators. It comprises the main colour of the flower with extra fine patterns, indicating a reward focal point such as nectar, nectaries, pollen, stamens and floral guides. Such advertising of floral traits guides visitation by the insects, ensuring precision in pollen gathering and deposition. The study, focused in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, aimed to spot bee colour patterns that are usual and unusual, missing, accomplished by mimicry of pollen and anthers, and overlapping between mimic-model species in floral mimicry cases.

Methods

Floral colour patterns were examined by false colour photography in 55 flower species of multiple highly diverse natural plant

SUBMITTER: Lunau K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8577209 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature