Can bees see in colour?
Yes. Bees see mostly the same colours we do, except at the red end of the spectrum – bees can’t see red as a colour. But they can see more at the other end of the spectrum and can see UV as a colour. This is often called ‘bee purple’, but we really don’t know what this colour is like. When you look at a white flower, the petals just look white. But, when a bee looks at a white flower it also sees lines that guide it down to the nectar – these lines reflect UV light and are invisible to us, but to the bee they are ‘bee purple’. Our publication Form and Function of the Honey Bee, will answer all your questions about honey bee anatomy.
