How does the emperor see?
The emperor (Saturnia pavonia) is a insect in the order Lepidoptera. Its eyes belong to the vision type Butterfly multispectral.
Measured in this species: motion (flicker fusion). One measured dial: a value other than colour or sharpness is measured in this species; colour and sharpness are not measured here. Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.
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What stands out
- It has 4 colour receptor classes, including ultraviolet; people have 3.
- Its sharpest vision resolves 0.42 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
- It stops seeing flicker at 75.8 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 1.3 times slower to it.[12][10]
- 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.
| Dial | Value | Evidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | Colour receptors 4 receptor classes: 380 nm (UVS), 460 nm (SWS (blue)), 540 nm (LWS (long)), 580 nm (LWS (long)) receptor set of nearest measured relative Actias artemis (same family Saturniidae) | Estimated | [1] |
| Ultraviolet yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet | Estimated | ||
| Sharpness | Acuity 0.42 cycles per degree median of 43 relatives in order Lepidoptera: Battus philenor, Colias eurytheme, Caligo memnon, Caligo eurilochus, Asterocampa leilia, Morpho peleides | Group default | [2][3][4][5][6] |
| Angle between facets 1.38° median of 21 relatives in order Lepidoptera: Battus philenor, Colias eurytheme, Caligo memnon, Caligo eurilochus, Asterocampa leilia, Morpho peleides | Group default | [2][3][7] | |
| Eye type compound eye | |||
| Field of view | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| 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 | [8] |
| Fovea type none | Group default | [8] | |
| Night vision | Activity pattern nocturnal mode of 1 relatives in genus Saturnia: Saturnia pyri | Estimated | [9] |
| Rods vs cones no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors) | Estimated | [9] | |
| Motion (flicker fusion) | Flicker fusion frequency 75.8 Hz median of 2 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [75.0, 76.7]) | Measured | [10][11] |
Related animals
- Asian swallowtail same vision type
- Coffee bee hawkmoth same vision type
- Common bluebottle butterfly same vision type
- Common eggfly same vision type
- Common evening brown same vision type
- Monarch butterfly same vision type
More insects: all insects with measured vision data.
Sources
- van der Kooi CJ, Stavenga DG, Arikawa K, Belusic G, Kelber A. 2021. Evolution of insect color vision: from spectral sensitivity to visual ecology. Annu Rev Entomol 66:435-461. Supplementary table. doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-061720-071644
- Martín-Gabarrella, Gemeno, Škorjanc et al. 2025. Pupil dynamics reveal the tuning of tortricid moths to diel activity. Journal of Comparative Physiology. A, Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology. doi.org/10.1007/s00359-025-01759-0
- Caves EM, Brandley NC, Johnsen S (2018) Visual acuity and the evolution of signals. Trends Ecol Evol 33:358-372. Supplementary Tables S1-S3.. doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.03.001
- AndrewPMeade/FabricTools, sciphy/data_utils/datasets/Arthropod.CompoundEyes.csv (acuity, body length, light, media for 281 arthropods; columns match Feller et al. 2021 Arthropod Struct Dev 60:101002). github.com/AndrewPMeade/FabricTools
- Feller KD, Sharkey CR, McDuffee-Altekruse A, Bracken-Grissom HD, Lord NP, Porter ML, Schweikert LE 2021. Surf and turf vision: patterns and predictors of visual acuity in compound eye evolution. Arthropod Structure & Development 60:101002. doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2020.101002
- Wright DS, Manel AN, Guachamin-Rosero M, Chamba-Vaca P, Bacquet CN, Merrill RM 2023. Quantifying visual acuity in Heliconius butterflies. Biology Letters. zenodo.org/records/10127023
- Currea JP, Sondhi Y, Kawahara AY, Theobald J. 2023. Measuring compound eye optics with microscope and microCT images. Commun Biol 6:246
- Comparative data for dance fly eye morphology and female ornamentation (Empididae). Data: Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z
- Sondhi Y, Ellis EA, Bybee SM, Theobald JC, Kawahara AY. 2021. Light environment drives evolution of color vision genes in butterflies and moths. Commun Biol 4:177
- Inger R, Bennie J, Davies TW, Gaston KJ. 2014. Potential biological and ecological effects of flickering artificial light. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98631. Table 3. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098631
- Lafitte A, Sordello R, Legrand M, Nicolas V, Obein G, Reyjol Y. 2022. A flashing light may not be that flashy: A systematic review on critical fusion frequencies. PLoS ONE 17(12): e0279718. S10 File (CFF database). doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279718
- Healy K, McNally L, Ruxton GD, Cooper N, Jackson AL. 2013. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 86:685-696. Table 1. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018
Every value cites its sources (all sources). Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this?