Sign in / Join Home Beauty & Style Health Lifestyle Home & Garden Personal Finance Business Tech Travel More Home Lifestyle Life Tips LIFESTYLE LIFE TIPS PETS How Many Eyes Does a Bee Have? By Animascorp November 24, 2021 0 2 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ask anybody on the street this question and he/she will tell you two eyes. This is because of the two big eyes found on the sides of the bee’s head. But the correct answer is five eyes. A bee has two visible compound eyes and three simple eyes called ocelli. The simple eyes are found at the top of the head in a triangle-like pattern. You can see the compound eyes with the naked human eye, the ocelli require close focus to see them. Compound eyes are made up of many tiny lenses which are called a facet. Whereby each facet sees a tiny part of an object, the facet combines to form a whole picture of the object. However, each ocellus has a single lens that detects light and change of light. Functions of Compound Eyes These are the headlamps for bees. Their main function is sight. These compound eyes have thousands of lenses. Small bees can have 10,000 lenses while big ones can have 16,000 lenses. Each lens captures separate parts of a picture then sends the captured light to the ommatidium to process the full picture. Bees use compound eyes to see flowers while the flower’s UV-marker provides the bee with the landing platform. The lenses in the compound eyes have small hairs that are rooted in the ommatidium. These hairs protect the lenses from dusty pollen grains in the flowers. These hairs also help the bee to gather pollen. It will later brush pollen from these hairs into the pollen sack. Functions of Simple Eyes Bees have three simple eyes located between the two compound eyes. Each simple eye has one lens with many sensory cells. The main function of simple eyes is to help the bee with navigation. The sensory cells detect the position of the sun. When the intensity of the sun reduces the bee knows is time to go home. Simple eyes also help the bee to detect danger. The sensory cells will detect a shadow signaling the brain and the bee flies away. The combined effort of the compound eyes and simple eyes makes it hard for you to sneak up and hurt a bee. Bees and Colors Bees also have their favorite colors. Research shows that bees are sensitive and attracted to purple, blue, and violet. This is because these colors make the surroundings brighter hence attracting bees. Bees do not see the red color. However, bees see flowers in a different way than how humans see them. Bees first see the ultraviolet markings which are found at the center of the flower. The ultraviolet markings tell the bee where nectar and pollen are. The UV markings also provide a landing platform for the bee so that it can pollinate the flower. Flowers also have an ultraviolet guiding system. This system attracts bees by producing an electric charge. Bees create a positive charge on their bodies as they fly in the air. On the other hand, flowers have negative charges hence attracting the bee. These different charges also help pollen to stick on the bee’s body. Nature is amazing as the flower can inform the bee that it is already pollinated. A pollinated flower changes colors for example from yellow to white. Doing so encourages the bee or any other insect to visit other flowers on the plant. Are Bees Near-sighted? Yes, bees are near-sighted because they have small lenses in their compound eyes. Whereby each lens can only see a small world around. However, bees have a higher rate of reaction than humans. Because bees can see what is invisible to human beings. For example, bees can see the scent of flowers which looks like flickering lights in “bee-world”. Do Bees have a Different Eye Color Apart from Black? Yes, other different bee species possess various eye colors. The digger bee has blue eyes this includes the blue-eyed carpenter bee. Some species like Anthophora and Xylocopa have big green eyes. A male leafcutter bee has pale green eyes. These bee species with unique eye colors are adapted to fly in low light. Conclusion Bees have five eyes, two compound eyes, and three simple eyes. Compound eyes are for sight while simple eyes are for light detection and navigation. Compound eyes are found on the sides of the head while simple eyes are in between compound eyes. Bees are sensitive to purple, blue, and violet but they cannot comprehend well the red color. Share Facebook Twitter PREVIOUS ARTICLE Are You a Good for Her Cinematic Universe Fan? Animascorp https://www.animascorp.com RELATED ARTICLES LIFE TIPS How Many Eyes Does a Bee Have? LIFE TIPS Are You a Good for Her Cinematic Universe Fan? INSPIRATION How to Tell a Guy You Like Him LEAVE A REPLY Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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