The study, by researchers at the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory also found that bees prefer larger bullseyes over smaller ones and fly 25% faster between artificial flower discs with larger bullseyes – potentially boosting efficiency for both bees and blossoms.
Patterns on the flowers of plants guide insects, like bees, to the centre of the flower, where nectar and pollen await, enhancing the plant’s chances of successful pollination. Despite their importance, surprisingly little is known about how these petal patterns form and how they have evolved into the vast diversity we see today, including spots, stripes, veins, and bullseyes.
Using a small hibiscus plant as a model, researchers compared closely related plants with the same flower size but three differently sized bullseye patterns featuring a dark purple centre surrounded by white – H. richardsonii (small bullseye covering 4% of the flower disc), H. trionum (medium bullseye covering 16%) and …