Compound Eye Structure and Phototactic Dimorphism in the Yunnan Pine Shoot Beetle, (Coleoptera: Scolytinae).

, a notorious forest pest in southwest China, primarily employs infochemicals to coordinate mass attacks that overcome host tree defenses. However, secondary visual cues, particularly detection of host color changes, also aid host location. This study characterized the compound eye structure and vision of using electron microscopy and phototaxis tests. The apposition eye contains 224-266 ommatidia, with asymmetry between left and right. Quadrilateral facets occupy the dorsal third, while hexagonal facets dominate elsewhere. Each ommatidium comprises a large corneal lens, an acone-type crystalline cone from four cone cells, and an open-type rhabdom formed by eight retinular cells (R7-R8 centrally, R1-R6 peripherally), surrounded by two primary and at least seventeen secondary pigment cells. Dark/light adaptation alters cone size/shape and rhabdom cross-sectional area/outline (without pigment granule movement) to regulate light reaching the photoreceptors. Behavioral observations showed peak flight activity occurs between 7:00-11:00 AM, with no nighttime activity. Phototaxis tests revealed females are highly sensitive to 360 nm, 380 nm, and 700 nm wavelengths, while males exhibit high sensitivity to 360 nm and 400 nm. This work enhances knowledge on the integration of visual and olfactory sensory information in beetles for host location and non-host avoidance.