How bees and flowers communicate using symmetry
Imagine walking through a botanic garden in the bloom of spring. Bees buzz around a flower patch. A scene of natural beauty and grace.
But from the bee’s point of view, it is anything but. Unlike us humans, bees are not blessed with the vision to enjoy this perceived beauty. Through their eyes, the green grassy landscape blurs into static grey. As if they were looking through thick, distorted, tinted glass.
Suddenly, a beautiful sight shines through the monotone. Six identical petals, growing out from a central pistil. Looking exactly the same in six different directions. To the noise which makes up most of the bee’s visual world, the six-fold rotational symmetry of the clematis flower is a phrase of musical harmony.
This symmetry is an intentional signal from the flower. Building this aesthetic flower costs a lot of energy and nutrients for the plant, a cost the other plants cannot afford. The excess nutrients translate into a higher sugar content in its nectar.
The genetic advantage of being able to absorb more nutrients allows symmetrical flower building. This then attracts bees, who are covered with pollen while getting the nectar. The bees pollinate other flowers, allowing the genetic heritage to be passed on. It appears in the world of flowers, symmetry is a key factor in survival of the fittest. The more symmetrical the flower, the more likely it is to attracts bees and to spread its pollen. A beautiful if unexpected evidence of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Survival of the fittest also applies to the bees. The bees who become experts at looking for symmetry will not go hungry. Different bee species are drawn to different types of symmetry to avoid competition with each other.
The honeybee prefers rotational symmetry such as:
the hexagonal shape of the clematis,
the five-fold rotational symmetry of the honeysuckle,
or the highly radial symmetry of the sunflower.
The bumblebee prefers mirror symmetry such as in:
orchid
pea flower
or foxglove
Symmetry is not just restricted to communication and survival of the fittest. When the bees have had their fill of nectar and go back to their hive, they will build hexagonal honeycombs to store their honey. It just so happens that making hexagonal honeycombs uses the least wax while maximizing honey storage. A genius architectural feat by the bees based on the Honeycomb conjecture, which took humans failed to prove until 1999 (Hales), but which the bees have taken for granted.
In conclusion, symmetry is a fundamental property of the natural world. The plants with most symmetrical flowers will go on to have their genes passed down for generations. The bees best at spotting symmetry are least likely to go hungry. Hexagonal honeycombs are the most efficient structure for storing honey.
Works cited:
Marcus du Sautoy. Symmetry. Harper Collins, 13 Oct. 2009.
Horridge, G.A. “The Honeybee (Apis Mellifera) Detects Bilateral Symmetry and Discriminates Its Axis.” Journal of Insect Physiology, vol. 42, no. 8, Aug. 1996, pp. 755–764, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1910(96)00026-1. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.
This article is part of my Symmetry series, where I recount my journey learning the mathematics behind symmetry, and explore its applications and its presence in nature. I focus particularly on its applications in materials science and physics.
