Honey bees see the world very differently from we do.
They have two compound eyes that can detect ultraviolet, blue, and green light, as well as three simple eyes (ocelli)that mainly help them sense brightness and light intensity. Unlike humans, however, honey bees can barely distinguish the color red.
As a result, flower petals that appear plain to us often display striking ultraviolet patterns to a bee. These invisible markings, known as nectar guides, act like landing strips, directing bees to the pollen and nectar hidden within the flower.
Even more surprisingly, flowers and honey bees also communicate through electricity.
Flowers naturally carry a weak electrical charge because of Earth's atmospheric electric field. Flying honey bees, on the other hand, become positively charged as their wings beat through the air. As a bee approaches a flower, it can detect the difference in the flower's electric field.
What's even more fascinating is that a flower's electric field changes temporarily after a bee has visited it. The next bee can sense this subtle change and may recognize that the flower has recently been visited, encouraging it to move on to another flower that is more likely to still contain nectar.
This remarkable system helps honey bees forage efficiently, avoiding unnecessary visits to flowers that have already been emptied.
It seems that flowers are doing everything they can to attract their tiny pollinators.