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Science 28 August 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5944, p. 1072
DOI: 10.1126/science.1173324
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Technical Comments

Comment on "Floral Iridescence, Produced by Diffractive Optics, Acts As a Cue for Animal Pollinators"

Nathan I. Morehouse* and Ronald L. Rutowski

Whitney et al. (Reports, 2 January 2009, p. 130) investigated the mechanism of iridescence in hibiscus and tulip flowers and suggested that bumblebees are able to use this iridescence as a pollination cue. However, their study failed to isolate iridescence from other coincident visual cues, leaving open questions regarding the importance of iridescent stimuli in foraging-based associative learning in bumblebees.

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–4501, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nmorehouse{at}asu.edu

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)