There are three colours that bees love to see in your garden – and attracting them to your outdoor space will offer huge benefits. Bees are an essential part of any garden as they help flowers and other plants thrive through pollination.
Bees are also great for plant health and when you are growing fruits and vegetables, you will likely see better results when you have them around. These incredible insects also act as a natural pest control, keeping harmful critters away from your plants and therefore preventing often irreversible damage.
They are in decline across the globe, so by attracting them to your garden and allowing them to thrive, you are helping when it comes to the bigger picture.
According to experts, there are three colours that bees are particularly attracted to, so you should consider planting flowers in these colours in your garden.
Bees are particularly attracted to purple, violet and blue. A study by the University of Illinois explains how the eyesight of a bee works and why they are drawn to these colours in particular.
The study reveals: “A bee’s eyesight is amazing! They have the ability to see colour much faster than humans. Their colour vision is the fastest in the animal world – five times faster than humans.”
Researchers add: “Bees cannot see the colour red. They can, however, see reddish wavelengths, such as yellow and orange. They can also see blue-green, blue, violet, and ‘bee’s purple.’ Bee’s purple is a combination of yellow and ultraviolet light. That’s why humans can’t see it. The most likely colours to attract bees, according to scientists, are purple, violet and blue.”
Other pollinators are attracted to different colours. Butterflies, for example, will flock to your garden if they see orange, red, yellow, pink or purple.
Meanwhile, hummingbirds will be attracted to a garden that has flowers in the colours of red and pink. Coloured flowers aren’t the only things that can attract bees to your garden.
In fact, some gardeners paint these colours onto their walls and fences in their gardens to attract bees. There are also things like ‘bee hotels’ that you can purchase which provide environments in which bees and nest and reproduce.