Abstract: Research was done to determine whether or not honey bees prefer flowers of the Epilobium canum plant within a moderate range of color red intensity. This research is significant because it enables us to understand more about bee behavior, and, not to mention, it will aid farmers in crop production to select the most efficient pollinators for specific types of crops. E. canum plants were surveyed and later used to calculate the proportion of the color red per flowers for each plant surveyed to compare and attempt to depict a correlation between pollinator visitation frequency and intensity of the color red in E. canum flowers. Although there is no evidence that suggests a correlation between these two variables after performing a p-test,
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These advantages vary from evolved nectar guides, plant height, flower smell, to structure of flowers (Clement, 1965). Apis mellifera, also known as the honey bee, is a highly coevolved pollinator that prefers flowers over other types as a resource for nectar. This species of bee has shown to demonstrate a high interest over the Epilobium canum plant due to its relatively high production and accessibility of nectar and pollen as a food source. We observed that some E. canum plant flowers possess different shades of red; thus, leading us to wonder whether or not if this affects the visitor/pollinator frequency between Epilobium canum plants and honey bees. In other words, we will be testing if the intensity/proportion of the color red in E. canum flowers influences the frequency of A. mellifera visits; for this, we will be collecting data, and interpreting it to find a correlation between visitation frequency to intensity of the color red in …show more content…
canum plant has no effect on honey bee visitation frequency. With this being said; we do, however, tend to see some sort of trend between frequency of honey bee visits and the proportion to color red in flowers. As flower color intensity increases, the average number of Apis mellifera visits increases, proportionally; yet, as the intensity of the color red continues to increase to a higher value, 0.86 exactly, the frequency of honey bee visits starts to deplete. A. mellifera showed, almost, no interest in flowers with very low red intensity/vibrancy (below the 0.75 proportion of red value). The same can be said for those flowers that exhibited high values of the color red proportion; those plants with a substantial red intensity value appear to be darker in color, and the honey bees’ interest for those flowers decrease. Bees in the wild tend to not pollinate flowers that are too dark for them to perceive. Most bee species perceive dark colors as black; thus, decreasing the pollination chances for darker flowers; these flowers are usually reserved for other pollinators such as hummingbirds and flies (Knight,
These advantages vary from evolved nectar guides, plant height, flower smell, to structure of flowers (Clement, 1965). Apis mellifera, also known as the honey bee, is a highly coevolved pollinator that prefers flowers over other types as a resource for nectar. This species of bee has shown to demonstrate a high interest over the Epilobium canum plant due to its relatively high production and accessibility of nectar and pollen as a food source. We observed that some E. canum plant flowers possess different shades of red; thus, leading us to wonder whether or not if this affects the visitor/pollinator frequency between Epilobium canum plants and honey bees. In other words, we will be testing if the intensity/proportion of the color red in E. canum flowers influences the frequency of A. mellifera visits; for this, we will be collecting data, and interpreting it to find a correlation between visitation frequency to intensity of the color red in …show more content…
canum plant has no effect on honey bee visitation frequency. With this being said; we do, however, tend to see some sort of trend between frequency of honey bee visits and the proportion to color red in flowers. As flower color intensity increases, the average number of Apis mellifera visits increases, proportionally; yet, as the intensity of the color red continues to increase to a higher value, 0.86 exactly, the frequency of honey bee visits starts to deplete. A. mellifera showed, almost, no interest in flowers with very low red intensity/vibrancy (below the 0.75 proportion of red value). The same can be said for those flowers that exhibited high values of the color red proportion; those plants with a substantial red intensity value appear to be darker in color, and the honey bees’ interest for those flowers decrease. Bees in the wild tend to not pollinate flowers that are too dark for them to perceive. Most bee species perceive dark colors as black; thus, decreasing the pollination chances for darker flowers; these flowers are usually reserved for other pollinators such as hummingbirds and flies (Knight,