How do bees see? The compound eye of the bee allows it...
- To see pure red in the same way as a human being.
- To spot a moving flower better than a stationary one.
- To see clearly in the dark at night.
Show answer
Correct answer: 2.
To spot a moving flower better than a stationary one.
Why?
The compound eye of the bee is particularly well adapted to the detection of movement. When an object moves in its visual field, the ommatidia are stimulated successively, which allows the bee to perceive changes of position quickly.
A flower slightly buffeted by the wind can thus be easier to spot than a completely stationary flower, especially in a complex visual environment.
What to understand
The vision of the bee is not simply a miniature version of human vision. It perceives in particular ultraviolet, blue and green, but not pure red as we do. A surface that we see as red can nevertheless be perceived by the bee if it also reflects in the ultraviolet.
Bees do not see clearly in the dark. In the darkness of the hive, they orient themselves above all by means of other senses, in particular touch, the antennae, odours and contacts with the other bees.
Key points
The compound eye of the bee is very effective at detecting rapid movements and changes in the environment. For the beekeeper, one must avoid transposing human vision directly to that of the bee, in particular for colours.