Flower colours only a bee sees

BEES are attracted to certain flowers because the plants emit a blue glow invisible to humans, scientists say.

Naturally blue flowers such as delphiniums entice insects because they often contain high volumes of nectar.

But gardeners can get the effect with evening primroses and some types of daisy. A study found these plants attract bumblebees with tiny ridges on the petals that scatter light into a ‘blue halo’.

A study led by Cambridge University recorded 120 flower visits by bees and found those with the halo were visited almost every time.

Cambridge’s Edwige Moyroud said: ‘Unlike us, bees have enhanced photoreceptor activity in the blue-UV parts of the spectrum … we can’t distinguish between a yellow flower with a blue halo and one without, but our study found bumblebees can.’