花色是植物-传粉者相互作用的重要媒介。虽然来自花朵表面和背景的光的反射率受物理性质控制,这些信息的感知解释是由复杂的多层视觉处理产生的。如果花信号的定量建模力求通过参数简化实现可重复的一致性,或者建模应该反映已知蜜蜂处理信号的动态方式?我们讨论了为什么颜色是动物大脑对光谱信息的解释。不同的物种,或一个物种中的个体,可以根据感觉装置和/或个人经历对颜色信号作出不同的响应。人类和蜜蜂有不同的光谱范围,但是色彩理论强烈植根于人类的色彩感知,许多色彩视觉原理似乎很普遍。我们讨论了基于生理的蜜蜂颜色感知,神经解剖学和行为学证据为花朵颜色建模提供了途径。我们研究了在光谱不同背景下观看的花瓣和花卉指南是否应被视为简单的颜色对比问题,还是需要对蜜蜂如何做出感知决定进行更动态的考虑。我们讨论了诸如欺骗性兰花之类的植物可能会提供信号来利用蜜蜂的感知,而许多植物确实提供了诚实的信号,其中感知到的饱和度表明了向花朵中心收集营养奖励的可能性,从而促进了有效的授粉。
Flower colour is an important mediator of plant-pollinator interactions. While the reflectance of light from the flower surface and background are governed by physical properties, the perceptual interpretation of such information is generated by complex multilayered visual processing. Should quantitative modelling of flower signals strive for repeatable consistency enabled by parameter simplification, or should modelling reflect the dynamic way in which bees are known to process signals? We discuss why colour is an interpretation of spectral information by the brain of an animal. Different species, or individuals within a species, may respond differently to colour signals depending on sensory apparatus and/or individual experience. Humans and bees have different spectral ranges, but colour theory is strongly rooted in human colour perception and many principles of colour vision appear to be common. We discuss bee colour perception based on physiological, neuroanatomical and behavioural evidence to provide a pathway for modelling flower colours. We examine whether flower petals and floral guides as viewed against spectrally different backgrounds should be considered as a simple colour contrast problem or require a more dynamic consideration of how bees make perceptual decisions. We discuss that plants such as deceptive orchids may present signals to exploit bee perception, whilst many plants do provide honest signalling where perceived saturation indicates the probability of collecting nutritional rewards towards the centre of a flower that then facilitates effective pollination.