A Monash University expert has demonstrated for the first time how accurately bees see colour and shape; close up bee shape vision is almost as accurate as human sight.

The breakthrough could help develop micro-cameras for use in surgery, medical diagnostics and even mobile phones.

Monash University's Dr Adrian Dyer from the Brain and Behaviour Research Centre says while scientists have known bees have different visual capabilities to humans, it hasn't before been possible to fully create an accurate simulation based on the optical principle the bees use.

"We recreated what a flower would look like to a bee, based on studies that show bees have different colour capabilities than humans. Bees see ultra-violet colour as well as blue and green, while humans see a mix of blue, green, and red colours." Dr Dyer said.

Many flowers have evolved ultraviolet reflecting pigments, so that whilst a flower from the Australian Native plant Caroline Jessamine appears completely yellow to our eyes, bees can see this as a two coloured flower.

Dr Dyer and Susanne Williams, from the Medical Photographic Imaging Centre at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear hospital were also able to recreate the way a bee sees the shape of the flower.

"At close range a bee sees the shape of a flower almost as well defined as humans do, but if the image is further away, then the human eye outperforms bee vision," Dr Dyer said.

Dr Dyer said bees also see a complete picture, unlike other animals where a number of smaller separate images captured by the eye are the assembled by the brain into the whole scene.

Understanding these principles is important for building miniaturised optical devices for technological advances," he said.

"This of course is a marvellous ability given the fact their actual eyes and brains are very small and the success of the study may hold lessons for technological advances using miniaturized optics."