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Western honey bee vision: the science and the numbers

Apis mellifera · order Hymenoptera · Insects: all the numbers

Bees have 3 colour receptor classes (344, 436 and 556 nm), one of them in the ultraviolet.[1][2][3] Their sharpest vision resolves 0.25 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[7] Bees stop seeing flicker at 220 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[32][33]

See it on your photoBack to How do bees see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured*
  • 0.25cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured*
  • 220hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an insect in the order Hymenoptera. Its eyes belong to the vision type Bee, ant and locust UV trichromat: three receptor types (ultraviolet, blue and green, no red), a low-resolution compound eye and fast motion vision. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness, foveas, night vision and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What bees see: colour receptors

Western honey bee colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmWestern honey bee: 3 receptor peaks at 344, 436, 556 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Western honey bee: 344, 436, 556 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has three colour receptor classes, like most people, but one of them sees ultraviolet.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 0.25 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 220 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 3.7 times slower to it.[34][32]
  • Activity pattern: diurnal.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 344 nm (UVS), 436 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 556 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured (not re-verified)[1][2][3]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[4][2][5][6]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured (not re-verified)
SharpnessAcuity
0.25 cycles per degree
median of 4 behavioural rows (method priority rule); acceptance_angle_deg: male / drone rows set aside (labelled alternative: 1.45); acuity_cpd: dim-light rows (bright-light rows used) set aside (labelled alternative…
Measured (not re-verified)[7]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[8][9]
Angle between facets
0.8°
minimum (acute-zone) interommatidial angle over sources; within caves2018: minimum (round-1 rule: mean of horizontal and vertical when both exist); interommatidial_angle_deg: male / drone rows set aside (labelled…
Measured[10]
Eye type
compound eye
Field of viewBinocular overlap (published value)
50 to 60°; eye region looking forward in flight		Measured[11]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[12][13]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[14]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[14]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[12][13]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
species-v1.csv text: frontal acute zone (compound eye)
Measured (not re-verified)[15]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[16]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[16]
Fovea type
acute zone		Measured[17][15]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 2 rows (of 2 rows): diurnal
Measured[18][4]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[19][20][21][4][22][23][24][25]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[26][27]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[28]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[19][20][21][4][22][23][24][25]
Night sensitivity (optical, against people): S = 0.93 µm² sr, 1 times people (log10 ratio 0) Derived[29]
Rods vs cones
no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors)
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[18][4]
Night sensitivity (optical, against people)
S = 0.105 µm² sr, 0.113 times people (log10 ratio -0.947, median of 2 values)
calculated from aperture, focal length and receptor size measured in this species
Derived[30][31]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
220 Hz
median of 2 bright-light rows (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [200.0, 240.0])
Measured[32][33]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[34][32]

Other senses

  • polarisation vision: optional overlay of degree/angle of linear polarisation (Group default)

All insects side by side: Insects: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Kelber et al. 2003
  2. Kirwan
  3. Porter et al. 2006
  4. Longcore 2023
  5. Müller et al. 2009
  6. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  7. Kelber et al. 2019
  8. Kirk et al. 2004
  9. Veilleux et al. 2014
  10. Caves et al. 2018
  11. Kelber et al. 2019
  12. Heesy 2004
  13. Heffner et al. 1992
  14. Campbell & Green 1965
  15. Rigosi, Warrant & O'Carroll 2021
  16. Kopania et al. 2025
  17. Rigosi et al. 2021
  18. Feuda et al. 2016
  19. Anderson et al. 2017
  20. Borges et al. 2018
  21. Wilman et al. 2014
  22. Maor et al. 2017
  23. Jones et al. 2009
  24. Schmitz et al. 2011
  25. Moura et al. 2024
  26. Banks et al. 2015
  27. Cervino et al. 2021
  28. Guareschi et al. 2025
  29. Brauburger et al. 2026
  30. Kelber et al. 2019
  31. Gutiérrez et al. 2024
  32. Inger et al. 2014
  33. Lafitte et al. 2022
  34. Healy et al. 2013

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.