Flies like yellow, bees like blue: how flower colours cater to the taste of pollinating insects

By Jair Garcia, Research fellow, RMIT University
Adrian Dyer, Associate Professor, RMIT University
Mani Shrestha, Postdoc & International Fellow, Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth University

We all know the birds and the bees are important for pollination, and we often notice them in gardens and parks. But what about flies?

Flies are the second most common type of pollinator, so perhaps we should all be taught about the bees, the flies and then the birds. While we know animals may see colour differently, little was known about how fly pollination shapes the types of flowers we can find in nature.

In our new study we address this gap in our knowledge by evaluating how important fly pollinators…

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