New fossil studies tell us our ancient ancestors enjoyed a diet of soft, sweet fruits. This would have influenced where they lived and spread to – and even the evolution of colour vision.
Visualising the colours birds perceive reveals the ultraviolet patterns that are usually hidden from us.
Vasas et al. (2024) PLOS Biology
Bees can perceive flower colours and hues which are invisible to us — such as those produced by reflected ultraviolet radiation.
A honeybee (left), a scarab beetle (middle), and a fly (right) feeding on flowers of the white rock rose in a Mediterranean scrubland.
Aphrodite Kantsa.
Rather than trying to out-compete each other, flowers may work together to attract bees en masse. It’s the sort of approach that is effective in the world of advertising too.
Dusk during the second day of the day-night Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and New South Wales at the Gabba, Brisbane, in October 2016.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
New research shows pink cricket balls can be extra difficult to see in those crucial minutes when day turns to night during play.
Australian bowler Mitchell Marsh receives the pink ball during the Test match between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The pink ball introduced to this year’s day night cricket test can be difficult to see for some players, especially if they are colour blind. There is a better choice of colour.
Australian surfer Mick Fanning, seen here surfing at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast, has decided to change the colour of his surfboard. No more yellow.
AAP Image/Jesse Little
The recent shark attack was enough to convince Australian surfer Mick Fanning that the colour of his surfboard may have been a factor. But what do sharks actually see in the water?
The mantis shrimp has 12 types of visual cones.
Klaus Stiefel/Flickr
As humans, we live in a colourful world, but differences in visual systems means that not all animals see the world in the same way. Unlike other aspects of an object such as size or mass, colour is not…