{"id":2550,"date":"2022-04-25T06:58:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-24T22:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=2550"},"modified":"2022-08-15T05:26:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T21:26:36","slug":"do-ants-have-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Ants Have Eyes?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Yes, ants do have eyes. Most ant species have a pair of compound eyes with some also having one to three additional simple eyes called ocelli on the dorsal surface of their heads. There are also some ants, particularly those that are subterranean, which have no eyes at all.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll discuss how ant eyes work and how ants use their eyes. We&#8217;ll also look in more detail into on their eyesight, and finally, determine if all ants can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#How_Do_Ant_Eyes_Work\" title=\"How Do Ant Eyes Work?\">How Do Ant Eyes Work?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#How_Do_Ants_Use_Their_Eyes\" title=\"How Do Ants Use Their Eyes?\">How Do Ants Use Their Eyes?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Do_Ants_Have_Good_Eyesight\" title=\"Do Ants Have Good Eyesight?\">Do Ants Have Good Eyesight?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Can_All_Ants_See\" title=\"Can All Ants See?\">Can All Ants See?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Related_Questions\" title=\"Related Questions\">Related Questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Can_Ants_See_Color\" title=\"Can Ants See Color?\">Can Ants See Color?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Can_Ants_See_In_The_Dark\" title=\"Can Ants See In The Dark?\">Can Ants See In The Dark?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Do_Ants_Have_Ears\" title=\"Do Ants Have Ears?\">Do Ants Have Ears?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Do_Ants_Have_Teeth\" title=\"Do Ants Have Teeth?\">Do Ants Have Teeth?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-eyes\/#Summary_Do_Ants_Have_Eyes\" title=\"Summary: Do Ants Have Eyes?\">Summary: Do Ants Have Eyes?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_Ant_Eyes_Work\"><\/span>How Do Ant Eyes Work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, <a href=\"https:\/\/genent.cals.ncsu.edu\/bug-bytes\/senses\/photoreceptors\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/genent.cals.ncsu.edu\/bug-bytes\/senses\/photoreceptors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ants may have two different types of eyes<\/a>, compound eyes and ocelli, which allow them to see and process visual information. However, while part of one visual system, both these eyes have their respective forms and functions which allow them to detect different types of stimuli.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compound eyes, for example, are made up of many closely-packed independent photoreception units called ommatidia. These ommatidia are the compound eyes\u2019 structural and function units of vision which consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells that focuses on and sees only one point of an image. The overall image perceived by an ant through their compound eyes is a mosaic-like combination of all inputs from these numerous ommatidia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, despite the pixelated image rendered, compound eyes provide ants with a relatively large field of view and allow them to form images of their environment, efficiently detect motion from different directions, differentiate between light and dark, and in some cases differentiate color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ocelli on the other hand, consist of only a single corneal lens covering several dozens of rhabdom-like sensory rods. They\u2019re simple photo-receptors which do not allow ants to discriminate between complex images of the environment but are instead used primarily for detecting light such as changes in the pattern of polarized skylight or some celestial cues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_Ants_Use_Their_Eyes\"><\/span>How Do Ants Use Their Eyes?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"can ants see\" class=\"wp-image-2187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/virvoreanu-laurentiu-3417264\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2129070\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Virvoreanu Laurentiu<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=2129070\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Like us humans, ants use their eyes to detect visual stimuli. Their eyes contain photoreceptors which convert light into inputs which then get <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-brains\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2533\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">processed in the brain<\/a>. From there ants are then able to extract color or motion information that allows them to paint a picture and get a better understanding of their environment. Then, through the information their eyes gather, they\u2019re able to navigate, <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/how-do-ants-find-food\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2115\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forage for food<\/a>, and react to potential threats like predators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Have_Good_Eyesight\"><\/span>Do Ants Have Good Eyesight?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants don\u2019t necessarily have good eyesight. Their vision is severely limited by the number of their ommatidia. Due to their size, their compound eyes can only hold a small number of these important units of vision. Some ants, for example, have only six.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, the smaller the ant, the lower the number of ommatidia, and since ants are only capable of producing images brought about by the combination of the inputs from each individual unit, the end result is a pixelated output that\u2019s as if we\u2019re watching a video in 144p quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_All_Ants_See\"><\/span>Can All Ants See?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"can ants see\" class=\"wp-image-2186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/can-ants-see-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Army_Ants_(Dorylus_sp.)_(7073859635).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/can-ants-see\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2184\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Not all ants can see<\/a>. As mentioned, there are certain ant species, particularly in the subterranean ones, which are blind. One of such species is the <em>Martialis heureka<\/em>, a blind predatory ant that\u2019s a descendant of one of the first ant lineages to evolve from over 120 million years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A number of blind ants can also be found in army ants, a representative group of nomadic, tropical, and predatory ants notorious for the destruction of anything in its path, many of which are also subterranean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These subterranean ants live underground where it\u2019s dark and instead of vision, they rely primarily on their olfactory system and pheromones to navigate and communicate with each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since their eyes are essentially useless underground, these ants have evolved to have severely reduced or even fully removed eyes so as not to bear the cost of growing and maintaining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Questions\"><\/span>Related Questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/do-ants-have-antennae-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"do ants have antennae\" class=\"wp-image-2452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/do-ants-have-antennae-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/do-ants-have-antennae-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/do-ants-have-antennae-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/do-ants-have-antennae.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/roverhate-1759589\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1193472\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ronny Overhate<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1193472\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_Ants_See_Color\"><\/span>Can Ants See Color?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, ants see color. However, they\u2019re sensitive to colors different from us humans. Instead of red, green, and blue, research has found that Australian bull ants are sensitive to blue, green, and UV. This allows them to have certain advantages at night or the dark where we humans are completely color blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_Ants_See_In_The_Dark\"><\/span>Can Ants See In The Dark?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, ants can see in the dark. In fact, some nocturnal ants can see in the dark quite effectively. Research has found that nocturnal ants have developed certain optical adaptations that allow them to see better in the dark as compared to their diurnal counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comparing the eyes of the nocturnal ant species <em>M. pyriformis<\/em> and their diurnal relative <em>M. croslandi<\/em>, showed that the eyes of the former have larger facets and wider rhabdoms which result in a 27-fold increase in optical sensitivity and overall visual reliability in dim-light conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Have_Ears\"><\/span>Do Ants Have Ears?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants don\u2019t have ears. To <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/can-ants-hear\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2286\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">detect sound<\/a>, they use their subgenual organ, a major type of chordotonal organ located below the knee in the tibia of all their legs, which picks up vibrations transmitted through solid objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Have_Teeth\"><\/span>Do Ants Have Teeth?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-have-teeth\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2456\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ants have teeth<\/a> called mandibular teeth attached to their mandibles, a pair of external appendages connected next to their mouths. The number of these teeth vary depending on the species, but modern ants tend to have at least two.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These teeth aid the mandibles in moving objects, processing food, and in attacking or defending themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_Do_Ants_Have_Eyes\"><\/span>Summary: Do Ants Have Eyes?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there are some ant species that may have no eyes, most have a functioning visual system composed of compound eyes and ocelli. These two eyes function differently by virtue of their structures but nonetheless work together to allow ants to see and process visual information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compound eyes allow ants to form images of their environment, detect motion, differentiate between light and dark, and differentiate color while simple eyes are used primarily for detecting light such as changes in the pattern of polarized skylight or some celestial cues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yes, ants do have eyes. Most ant species have a pair of compound eyes with some also having one to three additional simple eyes called ocelli on the dorsal surface of their heads. There are also some ants, particularly those that are subterranean, which have no eyes at all. In this article, we\u2019ll discuss how&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}