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How does the Australian emperor dragonfly see?

Anax papuensis · order Odonata · Insects

Estimated: the Australian emperor dragonfly has four colour channels, including ultraviolet (354, 380, 442 and 503 nm).[1][2] Its sharpest vision resolves 2.08 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[6] The Australian emperor dragonfly stops seeing flicker at 57.1 Hz, against 60 Hz for people.[24]

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  • 4colour receptor classesEstimated
  • 2.08cycles per degree (sharpness)Estimated
  • 57.1hertz flicker fusion (motion)Measured

The Australian emperor dragonfly (Anax papuensis) is an insect in the order Odonata. Its eyes belong to the vision type Hunter insect (dragonfly, mantis): a compound eye with a sharp zone and an almost all-round field of view. Measured in this species: motion (flicker fusion). One measured dial: a value other than colour or sharpness is measured in this species; colour and sharpness are not measured here.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the Australian emperor dragonfly sees: colour receptors

Australian emperor dragonfly colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmAustralian emperor dragonfly: 4 receptor peaks at 354, 380, 442, 503 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Australian emperor dragonfly: 354, 380, 442, 503 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What does an Australian emperor dragonfly's vision look like?

Estimated: the Australian emperor dragonfly has four colour channels, including ultraviolet (354, 380, 442 and 503 nm).[1][2] Fine detail is blurred to what 2.08 cycles per degree can resolve.

Can the Australian emperor dragonfly see colour?

Yes. The Australian emperor dragonfly has four colour channels, including ultraviolet (354, 380, 442 and 503 nm); people have 3.[1][2]

How far can the Australian emperor dragonfly see?

Distance depends on the size of what is seen, so sharpness is the measure. The Australian emperor dragonfly resolves 2.08 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset, so a detail must be about 30.6 times larger, or that much closer, for it to make it out as well as a person.[6]

Can the Australian emperor dragonfly see in the dark?

The catalogue records activity pattern: diurnal and rods vs cones: no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors). Night mode in the tool uses these traits by a stated engine rule, not a measured sensitivity.[1]

Does the Australian emperor dragonfly see in slow motion?

The Australian emperor dragonfly stops seeing flicker at 57.1 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset. So motion looks about the same speed as it does to people.[24]

What stands out

  • It has 4 colour receptor classes, including ultraviolet; people have 3.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 2.08 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • It stops seeing flicker at 57.1 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about the same.[25][26]
  • Activity pattern: diurnal.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the Australian emperor dragonfly (Anax papuensis), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
4 receptor classes: 354 nm (UVS), 380 nm (UVS), 442 nm (SWS (blue)), 503 nm (MWS (green))
receptor set of nearest measured relative Anax junius (same genus Anax)
Estimated[1][2]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][3][4][5]
Ultraviolet
yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet		Estimated
SharpnessAcuity
2.08 cycles per degree
median of 1 relatives in genus Anax: Anax junius
Estimated[6]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[7][8]
Angle between facets
0.24°
median of 1 relatives in genus Anax: Anax junius
Estimated[6]
Eye type
compound eye
Field of viewNo value in the catalogue.Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[9][10]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[11]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[11]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[9][10]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
0
median of 91 relatives in class Insecta: Empis prodromus, Rhamphomyia albidiventris, Rhamphomyia breviventris, Rhamphomyia maculipennis, Rhamphomyia marginata, Rhamphomyia murina
Group default[12]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[13]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[13]
Fovea type
none		Group default[12]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 1 relatives in genus Anax: Anax junius
Estimated[1]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[14][15][16][1][17][18][19][20]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[21][22]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[23]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[14][15][16][1][17][18][19][20]
Rods vs cones
no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors)		Estimated[1]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
57.1 Hz
median of 1 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [57.14])
Measured[24]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[25][26]

Related animals

The same tulips as a praying mantis sees them.Praying mantisHunter insect (dragonfly, mantis)

More insects: all insects with measured vision data. Same eye type: Hunter insect (dragonfly, mantis).

Sources

  1. Longcore T. 2023. A compendium of photopigment peak sensitivities and visual spectral response curves of terrestrial wildlife to guide design of outdoor nighttime lighting. Basic Appl Ecol 73:40-50. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2023.09.002. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8432720
  2. van der Kooi CJ, Stavenga DG, Arikawa K, Belusic G, Kelber A. 2021. Evolution of insect color vision: from spectral sensitivity to visual ecology. Annu Rev Entomol 66:435-461. Supplementary table. doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-061720-071644
  3. Kirwan J. luxR 0.1.1: Underwater Light Analysis and Visual Ecology (R-universe), data species_sensitivities. github.com/JohnKirwan/luxR
  4. Müller B, Glösmann M, Peichl L, Knop GC, Hagemann C, Ammermüller J (2009) Bat eyes have ultraviolet-sensitive cone photoreceptors. PLoS ONE 4:e6390
  5. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual Pigments (2004)
  6. Caves EM, Brandley NC, Johnsen S (2018) Visual acuity and the evolution of signals. Trends Ecol Evol 33:358-372. Supplementary Tables S1-S3.. doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.03.001
  7. Kirk EC, Kay RF 2004. The evolution of high visual acuity in the Anthropoidea. In Anthropoid Origins, Table 1 (behavioural acuity). doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8873-7_20
  8. Veilleux CC, Kirk EC 2014. Visual acuity in mammals. Brain Behav Evol 83:43, Supplementary Table 1 (cleaned CSV in Evo-M1-Trait-Data). doi.org/10.1159/000357830
  9. Heesy CP 2004. On the relationship between orbit orientation and binocular visual field overlap in mammals. Anat Rec 281A:1104, Table 1. doi.org/10.1002/ar.a.20116
  10. Heffner RS, Heffner HE 1992. Visual factors in sound localization in mammals. J Comp Neurol 317:219, Table 1 (via Evo-M1 sensory merge). doi.org/10.1002/cne.903170302
  11. species_v1:Campbell & Green 1965
  12. Comparative data for dance fly eye morphology and female ornamentation (Empididae). Data: Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z
  13. Kopania EEK, Clark NL. 2025. Mammalian retinal specializations for high acuity vision evolve in response to both foraging strategies and morphological constraints. Evolution Letters 9: qrae072. Supplementary Tables S1-S2.. doi.org/10.1093/evlett/qrae072
  14. Anderson SR, Wiens JJ. 2017. Out of the dark: 350 million years of conservatism and evolution in diel activity patterns in vertebrates. Evolution 71:1944-1959. Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.fg700. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fg700
  15. Borges R, Johnson WE, O'Brien SJ, Gomes C, Heesy CP, Antunes A (2018) Adaptive genomic evolution of opsins reveals that early mammals flourished in nocturnal environments. BMC Genomics 19:121
  16. Wilman et al. 2014 EltonTraits 1.0, MamFuncDat.txt. doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
  17. Maor R, Dayan T, Ferguson-Gow H, Jones KE. 2017. Temporal niche expansion in mammals from a nocturnal ancestor after dinosaur extinction. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1:1889-1895. Supplementary Table 1. doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0366-5
  18. Jones KE et al. 2009. PanTHERIA: a species-level database of life history, ecology, and geography of extant and recently extinct mammals. Ecology 90:2648. Ecological Archives E090-184. doi.org/10.1890/08-1494.1
  19. Schmitz L, Motani R. 2011. Science 332:705-708, SOM. doi.org/10.1126/science.1200043
  20. Moura et al. 2024. A phylogeny-informed characterisation of global tetrapod traits addresses data gaps and biases. PLoS Biol 22:e3002658. TetrapodTraits v3.0.1.. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22536349
  21. Banks MS, Sprague WW, Schmoll J, Parnell JAQ, Love GD. 2015. Science Advances 1:e1500391. doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500391
  22. Cervino NG et al. 2021. A closer look at pupil diversity and evolution in frogs and toads. Proc R Soc B 288:20211402. doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.15112050.v1
  23. Guareschi BLV, Sallum JMF, Salles MV, de Moraes JGO, Bortolini M, Cray C, Moore BA, da Rosa CC, Montiani-Ferreira F. 2025. GUCY2D-Associated Retinopathy: A Comparative Study Between Humans and German Spitz Dogs. Veterinary sciences 12(9):879. doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12090879
  24. Haarlem CS, Hynes C, Jackson AL, Mitchell KJ, O'Connell RG, Healy K. 2026. Pace of ecology drives the tempo of visual perception across the animal kingdom. Nature Ecology & Evolution (doi:10.1038/s41559-026-02994-7). Figshare dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.30556475. doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30556475
  25. Healy K, McNally L, Ruxton GD, Cooper N, Jackson AL. 2013. Metabolic rate and body size are linked with perception of temporal information. Animal Behaviour 86:685-696. Table 1. doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.018
  26. Inger R, Bennie J, Davies TW, Gaston KJ. 2014. Potential biological and ecological effects of flickering artificial light. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98631. Table 3. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098631

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.