Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY-REVUE CANADIENNE DE BOTANIQUE
Volume 80, Issue 12, Pages 1325-1328Publisher
NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA
DOI: 10.1139/B02-116
Keywords
Apis mellifera scutellata; choice experiment; flower colour; Hypoxis hemerocallidea; pollination; foraging behaviour
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It has been difficult to manipulate the ultraviolet (UV) reflectance of flowers independently of other wavelengths to study the response of insect pollinators to this trait. One effective solution is to paint flower corollas with human sunscreen that absorbs UV wavelengths. Honeybees (Apis mellifera scutellata) foraging on the strongly UV-reflecting flowers of Hypoxis hemerocallidea Fisch. & C.A. Mey. rejected flowers that had UV reflectance eliminated by a sunscreen coating, but continued to visit control flowers painted with sunscreen solution that did not contain the UV absorbing compound. The sunscreen technique could be useful for determining the response of a wide range of pollinators to the UV component of spectral reflectance in flowers and could be used to test the functional significance of UV-contrasting nectar guide patterns.
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