Superposition eyes of diurnal and nocturnal hawkmoths are imperfect spheres and lack acute zones.

Sondhi, Y.; Qian, R.; Currea, J. P.; Koushiar, I.; Degen, J.; Glass, D.; Stanley, E.; Sponberg, S.; Kitching, I. J.; Kawahara, A. Y.; Theobald, J. C.

doi:10.64898/2026.04.28.721382

bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.04.28.721382

Superposition eyes of diurnal and nocturnal hawkmoths are imperfect spheres and lack acute zones.

Sondhi, Y.·Qian, R.·Currea, J. P.·Koushiar, I.·Degen, J.·Glass, D.·Stanley, E.·Sponberg, S.·Kitching, I. J.·Kawahara, A. Y.·Theobald, J. C.

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Abstract

Superposition compound eyes improve sensitivity by pooling light from multiple facets and are widespread among nocturnal insects, including moths and beetles. Optical theory predicts that superposition eyes must be nearly spherical to form coherent images and therefore lack highly pronounced acute zones with high spatial resolution. To examine this, we imaged eyes of six hawkmoths (Sphingidae) spanning diurnal and nocturnal activity with high-resolution microcomputed tomography. Our automated pipeline created detailed eye maps quantifying morphological parameters. We measured local eye curvature (radial distance), interommatidial angle ({Delta}{varphi}), facet size and crystalline cone skewness (tilt of cone axes relative to the local surface normal). All species show more curvature in the dorso-ventral plane with flattening in the antero-posterior plane. However, their eyes still retain near-spherical curvature globally, with diurnal species showing greater distortion. For facet parameters, spatial acuity is generally highest (lowest {Delta}{varphi}) near the eye center and decreases gradually toward the periphery. However, overall variation in spatial acuity is low and these eyes lack distinct acute zones. Facet size gradually changes from center to periphery, increasing in some species and decreasing in the others. Cone skewness is present in all six species (0{degrees}-10{degrees}), but in two diurnal species of hummingbird hawkmoths it increases markedly in the posterior region (15{degrees}-30{degrees}) possibly compensating for regional eye flatness. This paper provides foundational data of ommatidial and eye shape measurements and advances our assumptions about how superposition eyes function.

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Sondhi, Y., Qian, R., Currea, J. P., Koushiar, I., Degen, J., Glass, D., Stanley, E., Sponberg, S., Kitching, I. J., Kawahara, A. Y., Theobald, J. C.. 2026-04-30. Superposition eyes of diurnal and nocturnal hawkmoths are imperfect spheres and lack acute zones.. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.04.28.721382

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