Apis dorsata Prefers Blue

Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee native to Southeast Asia, prefers the color blue. According to an Indian study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, this insect shows a specific preference for blue flowers. Using artificial blue and yellow flowers, with sugar syrup as reward at different concentrations, researchers observed a preference for the blue flowers.

This preference was particularly evident when the reward concentration was low and when the bees had no recent foraging experience on a specific flower color. 

This behavior may be related to an innate preference for blue and, more generally, for short-wavelength colors. Furthermore, the floral community in the study environment was dominated by short-wavelength flowers, which could be another indication of pollinator-mediated selection associated with this preference for blue.

Go to the scientific paper full text here