Nature 312, 561 - 563 (06 December 1984); doi:10.1038/312561a0

Afocal apposition optics in butterfly eyes

D.-E. Nilsson^*, M. F. Land^* & J. Howard^*

Department of Neurobiology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, PO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
^*Present addresses: Department of Zoology, University of Lund, Helgonavägen 3, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden (D.E.N); School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK (M.F.L.); Department of Physiology, University of Bristol Medical School, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK (J.H.).

In most apposition compound eyes there are two components to the optical system of the ommatidium^1,2, the cornea and the crystalline cone. The focusing power of the cornea is well documented^3,4 whereas the crystalline cone is usually regarded as a mere optical spacer^5,6; consequently, the ommatidial optics will consist of a simple focusing lens. To the contrary, we now demonstrate the existence of a complete afocal telescope in each ommatidium of butterfly apposition eyes. The optical system is an extreme variant of that found in refracting superposition eyes, thereby providing a connection between butterflies and moths.

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