Pollen of self-heal glowing under UV - Self-heal (Prunella grandiflora)

[u/Gne1ss]

Self-heal (Prunella grandiflora). Pic 1: Pollen illuminated iwth UV light. Pic 2: without UV light, for comparison. Pollen often shows fluorescence, often in the bluish range, due to phenylpropanoids (e.g. ferula acid). The photo was taken with a longpass filter, tonenhance the contrast and to remove reflected blue light from the UV light source.

[u/Bananaheyhey]

So maybe insects see these kinda fluorescent since they see wavelengths of light we can't see

[u/Gne1ss → u/Bananaheyhey]

Insects are supposed to be attracted, yes, but rather by the absorption of light (UV absorbing parts seem dark). The responsible compounds are also meant to protect the plant pollen from UV damage. Fluorescence is one way to " release" the energy.