Dr. Petter Kevan has had a long-term interest in how pollinators see flowers. This has involved issues of colour vision and floral colours (Kevan, 1972), size (Giurfa et al. 1996),shape (Ne'eman and Kevan 2001), and movement (work in progress). The evolutionary linkage between floral colours and insect colour vision is explored in some depth in Kevan and Backhaus book chapter (1997). With Amots Dafni and Miriam Lehrer, the issues of floral shape and size are explored in regard to visual processes and capabilities in pollinators, mostly bees (Dafni et al. 1997). Actual experimentation on the detection and discrimination of shapes and sizes of floralmodels by honeybees are in progress and planned within the context of renewed grant funding (2002 - 2006, NSERC).
References
Giurfa, M., M. Vorobyev, P.G. Kevan, and R. Menzel. 1996. Detection of coloured stimuli by honey bees: minimum visual angles and receptor specific contrasts. Journal of ComparativePhysiology A 178:699-709.
Kevan, P.G. 1972. Floral Colours in the High Arctic with Reference to Insect-Flower Relations and Pollination. Canadian Journal of Botany 50:2289-2316.
Ne'eman, G., and P.G. Kevan. 2001. The effect of shape parameters on maximal detection distance of model targets by honeybee workers. Journal of Comparative Physiology 187:653-660
Dafni, A., M. Lehrer, and P.G. Kevan. 1997. Spatial flower parameters and insect spatial vision. Biological Research 72:239-282
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