Are Ants Good For Eyes?

Despite being small creatures, ants have eyes. Most species have two large compound eyes. They can detect colour and polarised light. They are also able to sense minute chemical signals. They are also able to use their vision to guide them to nests and landmarks, and warn of predators.

Some species have simple eyes called ocelli. These are located on either side of the midline of the head. The ocellus starts with a thick convex corneal lens. The ocellus is comprised of a number of structures, including retinula cells with long rhabdoms, and a sky-facing ventral retina.

Ocelli in ants have been considered to be vestigial. They are believed to be the source of polarised light information. They are also thought to provide a compass. The ocelli in night-flying ants may be involved in visual control of behavior.

Some of the most visually sighted species are the bullet ants. These ants have some of the best eyesight in all ant species. They use the visual sense to navigate the dark world of their nests.

Another species, the desert ant, has three central ocelli. It may use these to navigate the shortest route back to its nest.

In some species, workers and alate females have larger ocelli than do males. They use their eyes to avoid obstacles, find mates, and control their flight. This has implications for collective food transport and animal cognition.

The size of the lens correlates with the amount of time that the ant is active. It has also been shown that the smallest ants have fewer ommatidia.