How many eyes does a bee have? This question may have been included in your list of bee-related questions.
Just like me, you may have been curious about bees. Fortunately, we are not the only two.
Beekeepers and animal lovers have always been fascinated by bees. They tend to look at every part of the bee’s anatomy to understand the bee’s behavior.
Such curiosity also lends value to the fact that these people are interested even in small things such as a bee’s eyes.
In this blog post, we will learn more about a bee’s eyes and how these body parts help them in their roles in the apiary.
How Many Eyes Does a Bee Have?
A honey bee has five eyes in total. Don’t be surprised; they are not the only animals with multiple eyes. Some spiders are known to have eight eyes.
Honey bees have two large compound eyes and three smaller ocelli, or “simple” eyes, in the center of their head.
Three Simple (Or Occelli) Eyes
The Occelli eyes form a triangle on the head of a bee.
These detect light, but not shapes, and therefore help bees to detect whether they are being approached by predators from above.
Two Compound Eyes
The large eyes on both sides of a bee’s head are known as the compound eyes. Each of them is made up of a lot of tiny cells (called ommatidia) that piece together an image of what the bee can actually see.
This video does a great job of explaining the remarkable structure of those compound eyes of honeybees:
Did you know that Bees can see the Invisible?
Bees can actually sense an electric field of flowers (which have a slightly negative electric charge). Amazing, right?
Watch the video below to learn more:
So next time you see a bee buzzing around the garden on a warm spring afternoon, imagine how different their world looks through his eyes!
Thanks for that valuable information. ❤