Skye Boyd-Gerny

TL;DR: The degree of variability in flower coloration for particular angiosperm species matched the range of reflectance colours that can only be discriminated by bees that have experienced differential conditioning, suggesting a requirement for plasticity in the nervous systems of pollinators to allow generalization of flowers of the same species while overcoming the possible presence of non-rewarding flower mimics.

TL;DR: It is shown that bird-visited flowers and insect-visiting flowers differ significantly from each other in the chromatic cues they provide, and that the differences are concentrated near wavelengths of optimal colour discrimination by whichever class of pollinator visits the flowers.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated for the first time a significant shift in behaviour when the ambient temperature reaches 34°C, at which point bees prefer ambient temperature nectar over warmer nectar, suggesting that flower-pollinator interactions are dependent upon ambient temperature and may therefore alter in different thermal environments.

TL;DR: The innate colour responses of naïve bees are tested using standard broadband reflectance stimuli representative of common flower colours, and colorimetric analyses considering hymenopteran vision and a hexagon colour space revealed a difference between test colonies, and a significant effect ofgreen contrast and an interaction effect of green contrast with spectral purity on bee choices.

TL;DR: These findings demonstrate that innate preference testing of insect pollinators with artificial stimuli is replicated in a biologically significant scenario with flowers and underscore how food-deceptive orchids can receive sufficient pollinator visits to ensure pollination by having different morphs that draw on the innate preferences of bees and their ability to make decisions in a complex ecological setting.