The physiology of the cricket's compound eye with particular reference to the anatomically specialized dorsal rim area

Labhart, Thomas; Hodel, Beat; Valenzuela, Isabel

doi:10.1007/bf00610582

Cited by 107 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The highest polarisation sensitivity has been measured behaviourally in crickets, where the absolute e-vector sensitivity threshold lies below the light intensity of a clear moonless night sky (Herzmann and Labhart 1989). Despite a large measured scatter in PS values in the most reliable single cell recordings (ranging from 5 to 29), crickets reveal a high median PS value of 10 in their blue-sensitive DRA photoreceptors (Labhart et al 1984;Blum and Labhart 2000). As in Megalopta, the cricket DRA lacks screening pigment (and thus optical screening between the ommatidia) and possesses rhabdoms of greater diameter than found in the rest of the eye (Burghause 1979).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As in Megalopta, the cricket DRA lacks screening pigment (and thus optical screening between the ommatidia) and possesses rhabdoms of greater diameter than found in the rest of the eye (Burghause 1979). Thus, compared to visual fields of 6° in the dorsal, unspecialised part of the eye, the cricket DRA has wide acceptance angles of around 20° (Labhart et al 1984;Blum and Labhart 2000). The welldeveloped DRA of the desert locust is also optically specialised with fairly high PS (Eggers and Gewecke 1993;Homberg and Paech 2002), suggesting an important navigational role during nocturnal migration (Riley and Reynolds 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomical and physiological evidence for polarisation vision in the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis

Greiner

Cronin²,

Ribi

et al. 2007

J Comp Physiol A

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The presence of a specialised dorsal rim area with an ability to detect the e-vector orientation of polarised light is shown for the first time in a nocturnal hymenopteran. The dorsal rim area of the halictid bee Megalopta genalis features a number of characteristic anatomical specialisations including an increased rhabdom diameter and a lack of primary screening pigments. Optically, these specialisations result in wide spatial receptive fields (Ap = 14°), a common adaptation found in the dorsal rim areas of insects used to filter out interfering effects (i.e. clouds) from the sky. In this specialised eye region all nine photoreceptors contribute their microvilli to the entire length of the ommatidia. These orthogonally directed microvilli are anatomically arranged in an almost linear, anterior-posterior orientation. Intracellular recordings within the dorsal rim area show very high polarisation sensitivity and a sensitivity peak within the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomical and physiological evidence for polarisation vision in the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis

Greiner

Cronin²,

Ribi

et al. 2007

J Comp Physiol A

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“…Polarization vision in flies occurs in a narrow dorsal rim, via UV photoreceptors (Hardie 1986). Crickets employ a prominent dorsal area, recognizable by smooth facet lenses and ommatidia void of screening pigment (Burghause 1979;Labhart et al 1984;Stavenga 1989) with exclusively blue-sensitive photoreceptors (Burghause 1979;Labhart et al 1984;Stavenga 1989). Intriguingly, papilionid butterflies seem to deliberately confuse colour and polarization information for specifically enhancing the visibility of certain objects, like fresh leaves for oviposition (Kelber 1999b).…”

Section: Colours Seen By Insect Eyesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colour in the eyes of insects

Stavenga

2002

Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Sensory, Neural, and Behav

109

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Many insect species have darkly coloured eyes, but distinct colours or patterns are frequently featured. A number of exemplary cases of flies and butterflies are discussed to illustrate our present knowledge of the physical basis of eye colours, their functional background, and the implications for insect colour vision. The screening pigments in the pigment cells commonly determine the eye colour. The red screening pigments of fly eyes and the dorsal eye regions of dragonflies allow stray light to photochemically restore photoconverted visual pigments. A similar role is played by yellow pigment granules inside the photoreceptor cells which function as a light-controlling pupil. Most insect eyes contain black screening pigments which prevent stray light to produce background noise in the photoreceptors. The eyes of tabanid flies are marked by strong metallic colours, due to multilayers in the corneal facet lenses. The corneal multilayers in the gold-green eyes of the deer fly Chrysops relictus reduce the lens transmission in the orange-green, thus narrowing the sensitivity spectrum of photoreceptors having a green absorbing rhodopsin. The tapetum in the eyes of butterflies probably enhances the spectral sensitivity of proximal long-wavelength photoreceptors. Pigment granules lining the rhabdom fine-tune the sensitivity spectra.

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“…a potential partner or prey, against the ultraviolet/blue sky is best achieved by equipping a visual sense cell with a rhodopsin maximally absorbing in the short wavelength range (Stavenga, 1992). Similarly, discrimination of the patterns of polarization in the sky requires an (ultra-)violet rhodopsin, a common characteristic of insect dorsal rims (Labhart et al, 1984;Rossel and Wehner, 1986;Rossel, 1989). For discrimination of flowers against green plants a green rhodopsin is quite suitable.…”

Section: Visual Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Insect retinal pigments: Spectral characteristics and physiological functions

Stavenga

1995

Progress in Retinal and Eye Research

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The physiology of the cricket's compound eye with particular reference to the anatomically specialized dorsal rim area

Cited by 107 publications

References 17 publications

Anatomical and physiological evidence for polarisation vision in the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis

Anatomical and physiological evidence for polarisation vision in the nocturnal bee Megalopta genalis

Colour in the eyes of insects

Insect retinal pigments: Spectral characteristics and physiological functions

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