Receptor Function in the Apposition Eye — An Electrophysiological Approach

Vision, the gathering and processing of light energy by the nervous system, is a principal ingredient in the lives of many animals. We are going to confider the photoreceptors of the fast-flying diurnal insects with apposition compound eyes. In these animals: bees, dragonflies, the preying mantis etc., vision is a process of complexity, executed with precision. It involves such processes as colour discrimination, movement detection, tracking, orientation and pattern recognition. This entire analysis of the barrage of incident photons is carried out by a computing machine that has the dimensions of millimeters. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that when one examines the components of the visual system they appear beautifully designed, utilising subtle and diverse mechanisms to obtain, what appears to the Darwinian observer, an optimal performance.

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