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.
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