The eyes of Macrosoma sp. (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea): A nocturnal butterfly with superposition optics

Yack, Jayne E.; Johnson, Sharon; Brown, Sarah; Warrant, Eric J.

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2006.07.001

Cited by 40 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…1), thereby composing more ommatidia. A larger number of ommatidia in males was also found in the nocturnal Hydeloidea butterflies, Macrosoma heliconiaria (Guenée); the number of ommatidia was 4,719±603 in males and 4,447 in females (Yack et al 2007). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ommatidia of blow fly, house fly, and flesh fly: implication of their vision efficiency

et al. 2008

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This work aims to elucidate the number of ommatidia or facets (the outwardly visible units of each ommatidium) for compound eyes in blow flies [Chrysomya megacephala (F.), Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart), Chrysomya nigripes (Aubertin), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann)], house flies (Musca domestica L.), and flesh flies (Liosarcophaga dux Thomson) by manual counts of the corneal spreads. The head of the fly in each species was soaked in 20% potassium hydroxide solution at room temperature for 7 days, and the clear compound eye was dissected into six small parts, each of which was placed onto a slide and flattened using a coverslip. Images of each part were obtained using a microscope connected to a computer. The printed images of each part were magnified, and the total number of ommatidia per eye was manually counted. For males, the mean number of ommatidia was statistically different among all flies examined: L. dux (6,032) > C. rufifacies (5,356) > C. nigripes (4,798) > C. megacephala (4,376) > L. cuprina (3,665) > M. domestica (3,484). Likewise, the mean number of facets in females was statistically different: L. dux (6,086) > C. megacephala (5,641) > C. rufifacies (5,208) > C. nigripes (4,774) > L. cuprina (3,608) > M. domestica (3433). Scanning electron microscopy analysis of adult flies revealed the sexual dimorphism in the compound eye. Male C. megacephala had large ommatidia in the upper two thirds part and small ommatidia in the lower one third part, whereas only small ommatidia were detected in females. Dense postulate appearance was detected in the external surface of the corneal lens of the ommatidia of C. megacephala, C. rufifacies, and C. nigripes, while a mix of dense postulate appearance and variable groove array length was detected in L. cuprina and M. domestica. The probable functions of ommatidia are discussed with reference to other literature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ommatidia of blow fly, house fly, and flesh fly: implication of their vision efficiency

et al. 2008

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“…Although some exceptional cases are known (Yack et al, 2007), the butterflies are diurnal (Grimaldi and Engel, 2005). The ancestral moth eyes are characterized by socalled 'moth-eye' corneal nipple array and tracheolar tapeta, which have been maintained by most butterfly species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It contains the day-flying true butterflies (Papilionoidea), the skippers (Hesperioidea), and a newly identified group of the nocturnal Hedyloidea (Scoble, 1986). The eyes of true butterflies are of the apposition type (Nilsson et al, 1988), whereas those of skippers and Hedyloidea are of the superposition type (Yack et al, 2007), which is typical in moths (Nilsson, 1989). The eyes of moths have two characteristic optical structures that probably function to increase the light sensitivity: the tapetal mirror and the corneal nipple array (Miller, 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Absence of eye shine and tapetum in the heterogeneous eye ofAnthocharisbutterflies (Pieridae)

Takemura

Stavenga

Arikawa

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Insect eyes are composed of spectrally heterogeneous ommatidia, typically with three different types. The ommatidial heterogeneity in butterflies can be identified non-invasively by the colorful eye shine, the reflection from the tapetal mirror located at the proximal end of the ommatidia, which can be observed by epi-illumination microscopy. Since the color of eye shine is determined by the spectral properties of the ommatidia, it has been tentatively related to color vision. In the course of a survey of ommatidial heterogeneity in butterflies, we found that members of the pierid genus Anthocharis lack the eye shine. We therefore carried out anatomy of the eye of the yellow tip, Anthocharis scolymus, and correlated it with the absence of the tapetum. The butterfly tapetum is a remnant of the ancestral moth tapetum, a trait that has been completely lost in the papilionids and also, as now appears, in the genus Anthocharis. Anatomical investigations also revealed that, considering rhabdom shape,peri-rhabdomal pigment clusters and autofluorescence, the ommatidia can be divided in at least two different types, which are randomly distributed in the retina.

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“…Fig. 5.3d in Lau et al 2007) the distal projections Position of the nucleus of the 8th retinula cell (Tuurala 1954) Besides the rhabdom Below the rhabdom Below the rhabdom Rhabdom shape in cross sections (Yack et al 2007) Not ''flower-shaped'' ''Flower-shaped'' Roundish Rhabdom in contact with the cone (Exner 1891)…”

Section: Direct Connection Between Crystalline Cone and Rhabdommentioning

confidence: 99%

Neither apposition nor superposition: the compound eyes of the Chestnut Leafminer Cameraria ohridella

2011

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The two lemon-shaped compound eyes of the moth Cameraria ohridella measure in dorsal-ventral direction 263.0 lm in male and 238.9 lm in female individuals. In anterior-posterior direction no significant differences were found between the sexes, eye length being about 194.6 lm. The eyes of males consist of ca. 417 hexagonal facets, while those of females contain 367. In both sexes facet diameters are approximately 11.5 lm.Despite the size differences of the eyes in the two sexes, ultrastructurally they are identical and both possess ommatidia of 80 lm mean length. The ultrastructure of the eye is described and compared with that of other compound eyes of Lepidoptera. Anatomically the eyes represent a type intermediate between apposition and refractive superposition kind. A distal rhabdom is present in the space that in the eyes of larger moths with superposition optics is occupied by the so-called clear zone. A tracheal tapetum and longitudinal screening pigment migrations, typical of superposition but not apposition eyes are present despite the lack of a clear zone. Thus, our results support an earlier calculated minimal theoretical limit for superposition eyes.

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The eyes of Macrosoma sp. (Lepidoptera: Hedyloidea): A nocturnal butterfly with superposition optics

Cited by 40 publications

References 34 publications

Ommatidia of blow fly, house fly, and flesh fly: implication of their vision efficiency

Ommatidia of blow fly, house fly, and flesh fly: implication of their vision efficiency

Absence of eye shine and tapetum in the heterogeneous eye ofAnthocharisbutterflies (Pieridae)

Neither apposition nor superposition: the compound eyes of the Chestnut Leafminer Cameraria ohridella

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