Did you know that bees can see colors? Well, most of them can. They have excellent vision and can see colors in the ultraviolet range and the rest of the spectrum. That’s pretty impressive for tiny insects with tiny little bee brains! We’ve all read about how bees can see specific colors, which is why they are attracted to yellow flowers. But what does that mean exactly? Are bees color blind? Let’s take a closer look at this fascinating topic and find out more about whether or not bees are color blind…
WHAT IS COLOR BLINDNESS?
Color blindness is a deficiency in how the eye and brain process certain colors. The retina in the back of the eye contains two types of light-sensitive cells: rod cells, which are sensitive to brightness, and cone cells, which are sensitive to color. Blind people have fewer or dysfunctional cone cells.
Those who are colorblind have cone cells that are defective in a certain way, so they can’t distinguish between specific colors. Most people are either red-green colorblind or blue-yellow colorblind. It is rare to be completely colorblind, with zero ability to perceive color.
Do Bees Have Color Vision?
Bees can see every color that we can see, plus they can see in ultraviolet (UV) light. Ultraviolet light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum between violet and x-rays. Our eyes can’t see ultraviolet light.
The UV light bees see helpful because it enables them to find food sources, like nectar, pollen, and flowers. Bees also use UV light to communicate. Bee’s eyes have large ommatidia, a group of tiny photoreceptors that gather light. The larger ommatidia allow bees to see better in low light.
Do All Bees See Colors?
Bees are primarily colorblind. Only the females can see blue and violet, which are necessary to detect UV light. These colors enable the females to find flowers. Males, whose eyes are smaller and don’t have the same degree of ommatidia, are colorblind. They can only see yellow, orange, and red.
This enables them to find places to roost and places to find pollen. When males gather pollen, they often use ultraviolet light to find flowers. They don’t need to see color, just UV light.
ARE BEES COLOUR BLIND?
Yes, the majority of bees are color-blind. Only a few species of bees, such as honeybees, can see red. They see it as black, while they see other colors as grey. Other species of bees, like bumblebees and stingless native bees, are color-blind.
They can’t see red or violet; they can only see black, grey, and yellow. Bees can see ultraviolet light, which falls outside the visible spectrum. That is why bees can see red flowers, even though they can’t see red light. UV light has more energy than the visible spectrum, so it can penetrate further into the flower, revealing things hidden in the visible light.