Image: Adam Cole/NPR
Bees and other insects locate flowers using color, scent, shapes and even ultraviolet patterns humans can’t detect. Now scientists have discovered something else that flowers use to make themselves noticeable: electric fields.
In the above photo from UPI, a flower is shown before and after electrically charged paint is applied. The paint adheres along the electric field of the blossom.
The flower has a negative charge. Bees gain a positive charge as they fly from the friction of the air and their body parts. These opposite charges causes the flower to literally attract the bee. Not only that, scientists have discovered that it’s not just the bees sensing the flowers, the flowers actually shift their electric fields if a bee is nearby.
For more buzz on the subject and details about the experiments, check out the NPR story.
I was just reading about this! It’s so interesting.
Hey, that’s really cool. Who knew, right?
Very interesting. It just goes to show that everything is energy. The bees and flowers have a symbiotic relationship. Each would not be able to survive without the other.
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I love that they’ve evolved to be able to “communicate” with each other through such a unique method. I always find it interesting how plants respond to their environments without a central nervous system.
Now we just need our bee population to be where it once was…
I agree. This just further emphasizes how much plants rely on these buzzing pollinators.
Very interesting subject as we are heading into Spring! I have always been fascinated with bees!
Wow, I had never heard of this. Very interesting!
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I would have never thought flowers would put off an electric charge. I love the photos. I would love to see a time lapsed photo somehow of the charge as a bee approaches and continuing after !