Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
J Exp Biol. 2010 Feb 15;213(4):564-71. doi: 10.1242/jeb.037622.
It has been argued that trichromatic bees with photoreceptor spectral sensitivity peaks in the ultraviolet (UV), blue and green areas of the spectrum are blind to long wavelengths (red to humans). South American temperate forests (SATF) contain a large number of human red-looking flowers that are reported to be visited by the bumblebee Bombus dahlbomii. In the present study, B. dahlbomii's spectral sensitivity was measured through electroretinogram (ERG) recordings. No extended sensitivity to long wavelengths was found in B. dahlbomii. The spectral reflectance curves from eight plant species with red flowers were measured. The color loci occupied by these flowers in the bee color space was evaluated using the receptor noise-limited model. Four of the plant species have pure red flowers with low levels of chromatic contrast but high levels of negative L-receptor contrast. Finally, training experiments were performed in order to assess the role of achromatic cues in the detection and discrimination of red targets by B. dahlbomii. The results of the training experiments suggest that the bumblebee relies on achromatic contrast provided by the L-receptor to detect and discriminate red targets. These findings are discussed in the context of the evolutionary background under which the relationship between SATF species and their flower visitors may have evolved.
有人认为，具有在紫外线（UV）、蓝色和绿色光谱区域感光受体光谱灵敏度峰值的三色蜜蜂对长波长（对人类而言是红色）是盲目的。南美温带森林（SATF）中存在大量人类看起来是红色的花朵，据报道，熊蜂 Bombus dahlbomii 会访问这些花朵。在本研究中，通过视网膜电图（ERG）记录测量了 B. dahlbomii 的光谱灵敏度。在 B. dahlbomii 中没有发现对长波长的扩展敏感性。测量了具有红色花朵的八种植物物种的光谱反射率曲线。使用受体噪声限制模型评估这些花朵在蜜蜂色觉空间中占据的色觉点。其中四种植物的花朵具有低水平的色彩对比度但高水平的负 L-受体对比度的纯红色花朵。最后，进行了训练实验，以评估非彩色线索在 B. dahlbomii 检测和区分红色目标中的作用。训练实验的结果表明，熊蜂依赖于 L-受体提供的非彩色对比度来检测和区分红色目标。这些发现是在 SATF 物种与其花访客之间的关系可能进化的背景下进行讨论的。
