Color, activity period, and eye structure in four lineages of ants: Pale, nocturnal species have evolved larger eyes and larger facets than their dark, diurnal congeners.

ABSTRACT: The eyes of insects display an incredible diversity of adaptations to enhance vision across the gamut of light levels that they experience. One commonly studied contrast is the difference in eye structure between nocturnal and diurnal species, with nocturnal species typically having features that enhance eye sensitivity such as larger eyes, larger eye facets, and larger ocelli. In this study, we compared eye structure between workers of closely related nocturnal and diurnal above ground foraging ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in four genera (Myrmecocystus, Aphaenogaster, Temnothorax, Veromessor). In all four genera, nocturnal species tend to have little cuticular pigment (pale), while diurnal species are heavily pigmented (dark), hence we could use cuticle coloration as a surrogate

SUBMITTER: Johnson RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9499225 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature