my $query = 'apple';
my $sql = qq{ SELECT COUNT(*)
  FROM table1
  WHERE name=?
  UNION SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table2
  WHERE name=?
};

my $sth->execute($sql, $query, $query)
my $rows = $sth->fetchall_arrayref();

#table1
apple
apple
orange
pear

#table2
pear
apple
orange
orange

##</code><code>##

$VAR1 = [ [ '2' ], [ '1' ] ];

##</code><code>##

#table1
apple
apple
orange
pear

#table2
pear
apple
orange
orange
apple

##</code><code>##

$VAR1 = [ [ '2' ] ];

##</code><code>##

$VAR1 = [ [ '2' ], [ '2' ] ];