Eyes Perceive UV Polarized Light

an ant with a reddish body and black butt sticking up towards the sky stands on sand in a desert

Biological Strategy

Desert ant

AskNature Team

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Sense Light (Non-visible Spectrum) From the Environment

Living systems interact with each other and with their environments to gain information. Sometimes that information is in the electromagnetic spectrum. Wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum are also called the non-visible spectrum, because humans can’t detect them with the naked eye. These include ultraviolet (UV) light, infrared (IR) light, radio waves, and other wavelengths. Detecting within these spectra requires strategies beyond those used for visible light, so many living systems that depend on these signals have specialized organs to do so. For example, beetles that feed on burned trees have sensory organs that detect infrared radiation emitted by fires, enabling them to quickly locate a burned area.

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Insects

Class Insecta (“an insect”): Flies, ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, dragonflies

Insects are the most abundant arthropods—they make up 90% of the animals in the phylum. They’re found everywhere on earth except the deep ocean, and scientists estimate there are millions of insects not yet described. Most live on land, but many live in freshwater or saltwater marshes for part of their life cycles. Insects have three distinct body sections: a head, which has specialized mouthparts, a thorax, which has jointed legs, and an abdomen. They have well-developed nervous and sensory systems, and are the only invertebrate that can fly, thanks to their lightweight exoskeletons and small size.

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The compound eyes of the Tunisian desert ant perceive polarized light in the UV spectrum via specialized ommatidia.

“Experiments conducted by Zurich University biologist Dr Rüdiger Wehner with the Tunisian desert ant (Cataglyphis bicolor) showed that out of the 1,000 ommatidia in each compound eye, 80 per eye are dedicated to receiving polarized light within the ultraviolet wavelength band, and each receives it from a different point in the sky. That is, one ommatidium receives it from 270°, another from 180°, and so on. Within the compound eye, one region, the retinula, is directly sensitive to polarized light.” (Shuker 2001:48-49)

Last Updated August 18, 2016

References

Book

The Hidden Powers of Animals: Uncovering the Secrets of Nature

Marshall Editions Ltd. | 26/02/2021 | Dr. Karl P. N. Shuker

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Reference

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