Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Vision: Spectral Sensitivity and Other Perceptual Parameters of the Female Eye

Abstract

From measurements of the mean ommatidial diameter (17.2 microns) and mean interommatidial angle (6.2 degrees) of the eye of female Ae. aegypti (L.), a minimum resolvable angle of 12.3 degrees and an eye parameter of 1.6 microns were calculated. The eye had relatively poor acuity but high overall sensitivity to light. Electroretinographs revealed spectral sensitivity ranging from ultraviolet (323 nm) to orange-red (621 nm), with sensitivity peaks in the ultraviolet (lambda max323-345 nm) and green (lambda max523 nm) wavelengths. The retina is capable of some wavelength discrimination.