Communication through invisible colors in flowers

These two photographs are of the same flower.

The one on the left shows it in light visible to the human eye.

The one on the right, in ultraviolet light, invisible to the human eye.

From this photo on the right, the great contrast between the central zone and the periphery is striking, a contrast that is not appreciated in visible light.

Most pollinating insects can see in ultraviolet light and see how the center of the flower stands out from the rest of the flower.

This signaling pattern is found in the flowers of many other plants that depend on insect pollination to reproduce.

(Photos: Matthew Koski)

An investigation of this ultraviolet pattern, carried out by the team of Matthew Koski, from Clemson University in the United States, has led to the conclusion that the pattern serves to guide pollinating insects to the appropriate point of the flower.

It is therefore a way for plants to communicate information to their potential pollinators, information that is invisible to the naked eye for humans and other animals.

As in other cases, evolution has forged a system of amazing complexity that allows a specific goal to be achieved. (Font: NCYT by Amazings)