Of the insects that make their living sucking the nectar of flowers,
many have the ability to detect ultraviolet light.
Insects known for this include most moths,
Insects known for this include most moths, and members of the white butterfly family such as the small cabbage white butterfly.
But, the insect probably making the most use of ultraviolet light is the honey bee.
The outsides of petals contain large amounts of carotenoid,
while the central section is rich in flavonoid.
Carotenoid reflects UV light and flavonoid absorbs it, so,
to the UV light detecting honey bee the flower’s exterior and central sections appear to have a different color.
Pollen is also rich in flavonoid and absorbs UV light well.
Honey bees not only judge the flower petals,
but determine whether there is any pollen left when gathering nectar and pollen.
This can be verified by simply using a basic ultraviolet transmitting filter.
A flower that is the same color to the naked eye does in fact appear bright on the outside, and dark on the inside.
This difference becomes even more pronounced if digital processing is used to color the ultraviolet range.
It is not yet known what color honey bees actually perceive UV light as,
but there is no doubt that it would be colored extremely differently to leaves and stems.
The Azalea, where the petals open sideways and the stamen blossoms upwards,
only absorbs UV light on the petals facing the same direction as the stamen.
Ultraviolet light is a means of communication between honey bees and plants.
While it is thought that visual judgment at short range is used to determine the presence of pollen,
another factor other than UV vision may come into play when searching for flowers from the skies above.
One such candidate is smell.
Dogs, pigs, and other animals with an excellent sense of smell have a large nasal cavity
However, honey bees with their minute bodies have a keener sense of smell than dogs.
It may be that honey bees have a kind of smell sensor that we have never seen before.
How is it that honey bees, who posses a phenomenal sense of sight and smell make observations and learn from the world around them?
Humans do not have such refined sensors with which to measure the natural world.
However, humankind posses the power of analysis, one that goes beyond our natural limitations.
The protection of this diverse and beautiful earth through the analysis of nature is a mission that has been entrusted to humankind.