Colors Bees See

[SmithN]

Colors Bees See

What colors creatures see has long interested scientists, and aside from us, more is known about what colors bees see than any other living thing. Like us, bees are trichromatic (have three photoreceptors within the eye). Whereas we base our color combinations on red, blue, and green, bees base all their colors on UV, blue , and green. Just as color blind people do not see red or green, and therefore experience the world of color differently, bees also perceive the world in colors entirely different from ours. Bees do not see red and have a hard time distinguishing it from surrounding green leaf backgrounds. Bees that frequent red flowers are either perceive them in color they can see, or the red flower is not being lost against a green background. Even though bees don't see red, they can see other reddish wavelengths such as orange and yellow.


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