Editing Petal (section)

===Attracting insects===
Flowers have various regulatory mechanisms to attract insects. One such helpful mechanism is the use of colour guiding marks. Insects such as the bee or butterfly can see the ultraviolet marks which are contained on these flowers, acting as an attractive mechanism which is not visible towards the human eye. Many flowers contain a variety of shapes acting to aid with the landing of the visiting insect and also influence the insect to brush against anthers and stigmas (parts of the flower). One such example of a flower is the [[pōhutukawa]] (''Metrosideros excelsa''), which acts to regulate colour in a different way. The pōhutukawa contains small petals also having bright large red clusters of stamens.<ref name="SLH">{{Cite web |title=Attracting pollinators |url=http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Pollination/Science-Ideas-and-Concepts/Attracting-pollinators |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20161203173510/http://sciencelearn.org.nz:80/Contexts/Pollination/Science-Ideas-and-Concepts/Attracting-pollinators |archive-date=2016-12-03 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Sciencelearn Hub |language=en-NZ}}</ref>
Another attractive mechanism for flowers is the use of scents which are highly attractive to humans. One such example is the rose. On the other hand, some flowers produce the smell of rotting meat and are attractive to insects such as flies. Darkness is another factor that flowers have adapted to as nighttime conditions limit vision and colour-perception. Fragrancy can be especially useful for flowers that are pollinated at night by moths and other flying insects.<ref name=SLH/>