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American cockroach vision: the science and the numbers

Periplaneta americana · order Blattodea · Insects: all the numbers

The American cockroach has 2 colour receptor classes (365 and 507 nm), one of them in the ultraviolet.[1] Its sharpest vision resolves 0.21 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6] The American cockroach stops seeing flicker at 42.1 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[24][25]

See it on your photoBack to How does the American cockroach see?
  • 2colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 0.21cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured
  • 42.1hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is an insect in the order Blattodea. Its eyes belong to the vision type Fast fly (slow-motion world): a compound eye with very fast motion vision, a panoramic field and low sharpness. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness, night vision and motion (flicker fusion). Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the American cockroach sees: colour receptors

American cockroach colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmAmerican cockroach: 2 receptor peaks at 365, 507 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
American cockroach: 365, 507 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has two colour receptor classes (a dichromat): reds and greens fall on one axis, as in red-green colour blindness in people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 0.21 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 42.1 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks choppier to it.[26][24]
  • Activity pattern: nocturnal.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
2 receptor classes: 365 nm (UVS), 507 nm (MWS (green))
measured in this species
Measured[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[2][3][4][5]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
0.21 cycles per degree
median of 1 optical rows (method priority rule); acuity_cpd: dim-light rows (bright-light rows used) set aside (labelled alternative: 0.23, 0.43); interommatidial_angle_deg: dim-light rows (bright-light rows used) set…
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Angle between facets
2.4°
minimum (acute-zone) interommatidial angle over sources; within caves2018: minimum (round-1 rule: mean of horizontal and vertical when both exist); interommatidial_angle_deg: dim-light rows (bright-light rows used) set…
Measured[6]
Eye type
compound eye
Field of viewNo value in the catalogue.Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[9][10]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[11]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[11]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[9][10]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
median of 91 relatives in class Insecta: Empis prodromus, Rhamphomyia albidiventris, Rhamphomyia breviventris, Rhamphomyia maculipennis, Rhamphomyia marginata, Rhamphomyia murina
Group default[12]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[13]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[13]
Fovea type
none		Group default[12]
Night visionActivity pattern
nocturnal
mode of 1 rows (of 1 rows): nocturnal
Measured[2]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[14][15][16][2][17][18][19][20]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[21][22]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[23]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[14][15][16][2][17][18][19][20]
Rods vs cones
no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors)
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[2]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
42.1 Hz
median of 2 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [41.8, 42.5])
Measured[24][25]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[26][24]

All insects side by side: Insects: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. van der Kooi CJ, Stavenga DG… 2021
  2. Longcore 2023
  3. Kirwan
  4. Müller et al. 2009
  5. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  6. Caves et al. 2018
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Heesy 2004
  10. Heffner et al. 1992
  11. Campbell & Green 1965
  12. Comparative data for dance fly eye…
  13. Kopania et al. 2025
  14. Anderson et al. 2017
  15. Borges et al. 2018
  16. Wilman et al. 2014
  17. Maor et al. 2017
  18. Jones et al. 2009
  19. Schmitz et al. 2011
  20. Moura et al. 2024
  21. Banks et al. 2015
  22. Cervino et al. 2021
  23. Guareschi et al. 2025
  24. Inger et al. 2014
  25. Lafitte et al. 2022
  26. Healy et al. 2013

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.