Paula Jean Kinley, age 9, of High Point, N.C., for her question:

ARE BEES COLORBLIND?

A busy honeybee sees all sorts of colors. But strange to say, they do not look quite the same to her as they do to us. what's more, she can see certain lovely blue colors that we cannot see at all. Her favorites seem to be blue and yellow, and certainly she can tell which is which. On the other hand, she does not see red well and may mistake it for black.

The bee has two large eyes, one on each side of her head  plus three small eyes in the center. She cannot see far, but her eyes are arranged to see close objects on all sides. Certain wildflowers need her to help to prepare their seeds. So to attract her attention they spread forth her favorite perfumes and wear her favorite shades of blue or yellow.