How Flowers Use Color to Attract Birds & Bees

How do flowers attract bees that can’t even see red? Here’s how. 🐝🌺

They’ve evolved visual signals tuned to the eyes of their pollinators. While bees are guided by ultraviolet patterns we can’t see, birds are drawn to deep reds that bees don’t detect at all. These adaptations aren’t about looking beautiful to us, they’re about ensuring survival through precise communication.

Flowers have become experts at using color and light to reach the right species at the right time, shaping a hidden visual world built entirely for the pollinators they depend on. Discover how evolution shapes this unseen world in the latest episode of @singforscience featuring Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and passionate gardener Neko Case in conversation with celebrated ecologist Rebecca McMackin.