Treasury flower - Gazania rigens in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee vision XXI

Today shots of a current, long blooming flower, a yellowish white variant of a Treasury flower - Gazania rigens in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight, background was the flower's own foliage.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Quadriptych of human vision, UV, and simulated butterfly and bee vision (left to right, top to bottom):
 

This Gazania's outer petals reflect strongly UV around 372nm, wheras the inner parts are much darker hence forming UV nectar guides for bees. There are also highly UV reflecting marks inside around a dark UV center, all invisible to us humans but clearly visible to bees, and all this gets nicely visible here, also in simulated bee vision.

I have written about this Gazania previously HERE
 
Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos