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Hummingbird hawk-moth vision: the science and the numbers

Macroglossum stellatarum · order Lepidoptera · Insects: all the numbers

The hummingbird hawk-moth has 3 colour receptor classes (348.5, 435 and 521 nm), one of them in the ultraviolet.[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 0.77 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6]

See it on your photoBack to How does the hummingbird hawk-moth see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 0.77cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) 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 hummingbird hawk-moth sees: colour receptors

Hummingbird hawk-moth colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmHummingbird hawk-moth: 3 receptor peaks at 348.5, 435, 521 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Hummingbird hawk-moth: 348.5, 435, 521 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 0.77 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • Activity pattern: diurnal.

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 hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 348.5 nm (UVS), 435 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 521 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)[2][3][4][5]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Measured
SharpnessAcuity
0.77 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
1.23°
median of 2 relatives in family Sphingidae: Deilephila elpenor, Manduca sexta
Estimated[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
diurnal
mode of 1 rows (of 1 rows): diurnal
Measured[2]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[15][16][17][2][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][2][18][19][20][21]
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
140.4 Hz
median of 1 relatives in genus Macroglossum: Macroglossum limata
Estimated[25]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[26][27]

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

Sources

  1. Stöckl et al. 2019
  2. Longcore 2023
  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. Healy et al. 2013
  27. 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.