Your yellow petals shine with amber glow,
And glisten in the cool autumnal breeze;
Yet whilst I love the golden arcs you throw,
It is not me you try so hard to please.
Then when the solar light is viewed just so,
Your petals spark a ghostly, violet glow;
A spectacle that I will never see,
Your sweetest hue meant only for the bee.
Your sweetest hue meant only for the bee.
This is a Heroic Rispetto, inspired by recent research that has found how several flowers have nanoscale ridges on the surface of their petals, which produce a ‘blue halo’ that helps bees to locate them.
Bees have enhanced
ScienceBlog.com has no paywalls, no sponsored content, and no agenda beyond getting the science right. Every story here is written to inform, not to impress an advertiser or push a point of view.
Good science journalism takes time — reading the papers, checking the claims, finding researchers who can put findings in context. We do that work because we think it matters.
If you find this site useful, consider supporting it with a donation. Even a few dollars a month helps keep the coverage independent and free for everyone.
