The role of colour patterns for the recognition of flowers by bees.

ABSTRACT: Bees discriminate between many different colours of flower petals, but it is not well understood how they perceive and learn patterns frequently found in flowers with colourful structures. We used multi-spectral imaging to explore chromatic cues in concentric flower patterns as they are seen through the low-resolution eyes of the honeybee. We find a diversity of colour combinations, which suggests that plants might exploit the sensory capabilities of pollinators, like bees, that learn colours easily. A consistent feature is that the surround of the pattern has a stronger chromatic contrast to the foliage background than the centre. This can potentially facilitate the fast identification of floral objects within colourful scenes when a foraging bee moves through a flower patch. In behaviour

SUBMITTER: Hempel de Ibarra N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9441241 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature