Simon Berry Optometrist, The Jam Pot, 41 Marshall Terrace, Gilesgate, Durham DH1 2HX, England, UK.
Environ Entomol. 2022 Aug 19;51(4):643-648. doi: 10.1093/ee/nvac044.
To work effectively, the eyes of nocturnal insects have a problem they must overcome. During the night, the light levels are low, so their eyes need to be very sensitive; but they also need a way of adapting to environmental light conditions, and protecting those sensitive organs, if a bright light is encountered. Human eyes have a pupil that changes size to regulate light input to the eye. Moths (Lepidoptera) use a light absorbing pigment that moves position to limit the light within the eye. This pigment migration is difficult to record because it is a dynamic process and will only occur in a live moth. This paper presents the first use of Ocular Coherence Tomography as a method of viewing anatomical detail in a compound eye. This is noninvasive and does not harm the insect. To demonstrate the effectiveness, this article documents the dynamic process of light adaptation within a moth's eye.
为了有效工作，夜间昆虫的眼睛必须克服一个问题。在夜间，光线水平很低，因此它们的眼睛需要非常敏感；但如果遇到强光，它们还需要一种适应环境光线条件的方法，并保护那些敏感的器官。人类的眼睛有一个可以调节进入眼睛的光线的瞳孔。飞蛾（鳞翅目）使用一种可以移动位置以限制眼睛内光线的吸光色素。这种色素迁移很难被记录下来，因为它是一个动态的过程，而且只有在活的飞蛾中才会发生。本文首次提出将眼相干断层扫描作为观察复眼解剖细节的一种方法。这种方法是非侵入性的，不会对昆虫造成伤害。为了证明其有效性，本文记录了飞蛾眼睛内的光适应动态过程。
