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Elephant hawk-moth vision: the science and the numbers

Deilephila elpenor · order Lepidoptera · Insects: all the numbers

The elephant hawk-moth has 3 colour receptor classes (346.2, 442.5 and 521.2 nm), one of them in the ultraviolet.[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 0.25 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the elephant hawk-moth see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 0.25cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera. Its eyes belong to the vision type Colour or navigation at night: light-hungry eyes that keep colour vision or navigation working at night. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and night vision. 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 elephant hawk-moth sees: colour receptors

Elephant hawk-moth colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmElephant hawk-moth: 3 receptor peaks at 346.2, 442.5, 521.2 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Elephant hawk-moth: 346.2, 442.5, 521.2 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has three colour receptor classes, like most people, but one of them sees ultraviolet.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 0.25 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • 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 elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 346.2 nm (UVS), 442.5 nm (SWS (blue)), 521.2 nm (MWS (green))
measured in this species
Measured[1][2]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][3][4][5]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
0.25 cycles per degree
median of 1 compilation rows (method priority rule)
Measured[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Angle between facets
1.42°
minimum (acute-zone) interommatidial angle over sources; within currea2023_oda: minimum (round-1 rule: mean of horizontal and vertical when both exist)
Measured (not re-verified)[9]
Eye type
compound eye
Field of viewNo value in the catalogue.Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[10][11]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[12]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[12]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[10][11]
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[13]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[14]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[14]
Fovea type
none		Group default[13]
Night visionActivity pattern
nocturnal
mode of 1 rows (of 1 rows): nocturnal
Measured[1]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[15][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[22][23]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[24]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[15][16][17][1][18][19][20][21]
Rods vs cones
no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors)
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[1]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
126.85 Hz
median of 6 relatives in family Sphingidae: Daphnis nerii, Acherontia styx, Agrius convolvuli, Cephonodes hylas, Macroglossum limata, Psilogramma increta
Estimated[25][26]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[27][28]

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

Sources

  1. Longcore 2023
  2. van der Kooi CJ, Stavenga DG… 2021
  3. Kirwan
  4. Müller et al. 2009
  5. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  6. Feller et al. 2021
  7. Kirk et al. 2004
  8. Veilleux et al. 2014
  9. Currea et al. 2023
  10. Heesy 2004
  11. Heffner et al. 1992
  12. Campbell & Green 1965
  13. Comparative data for dance fly eye…
  14. Kopania et al. 2025
  15. Anderson et al. 2017
  16. Borges et al. 2018
  17. Wilman et al. 2014
  18. Maor et al. 2017
  19. Jones et al. 2009
  20. Schmitz et al. 2011
  21. Moura et al. 2024
  22. Banks et al. 2015
  23. Cervino et al. 2021
  24. Guareschi et al. 2025
  25. Haarlem et al. 2026
  26. Lafitte et al. 2022
  27. Healy et al. 2013
  28. Inger et al. 2014

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.