How does the plain grey hawkmoth see?
The plain grey hawkmoth (Psilogramma increta) is a insect in the order Lepidoptera. Its eyes belong to the vision type Butterfly multispectral.
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. Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.
See your photo as the plain grey hawkmothThis species is part of the full catalogue in the tool (full unlock). Your photo stays on your device.
What stands out
- It has three colour receptor classes, like most people, but one of them sees ultraviolet.
- Its sharpest vision resolves 0.31 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
- It stops seeing flicker at 171 Hz, against 60 Hz for people in this dataset, so fast motion looks about 2.9 times slower to it.[9][10]
- Activity pattern: nocturnal.
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.
| Dial | Value | Evidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colour | Colour receptors 3 receptor classes: 348.5 nm (UVS), 435 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 521 nm (MWS (green)) receptor set of nearest measured relative Macroglossum stellatarum (same family Sphingidae) | Estimated | [1][2] |
| Ultraviolet yes: at least one receptor peaks in the ultraviolet | Estimated | ||
| Sharpness | Acuity 0.31 cycles per degree median of 3 relatives in family Sphingidae: Deilephila elpenor, Macroglossum stellatarum, Manduca sexta | Estimated | [3] |
| Angle between facets 1.23° median of 2 relatives in family Sphingidae: Deilephila elpenor, Manduca sexta | Estimated | [4] | |
| Eye type compound eye | |||
| Field of view | No value in the catalogue. | ||
| 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 | [5] |
| Fovea type none | Group default | [5] | |
| Night vision | Activity pattern nocturnal mode of 12 relatives in family Sphingidae: Darapsa myron, Hemaris diffinis, Xylophanes tersa, Sphinx pinastri, Macroglossum pyrrhosticta, Manduca sexta | Estimated | [6][2][7] |
| Rods vs cones no rods (invertebrate photoreceptors) | Estimated | [6][2][7] | |
| Motion (flicker fusion) | Flicker fusion frequency 171 Hz median of 1 rows (no bright-light flag) (behavioural/whole-eye ERG rows; all rows: [171.0]) | Measured | [8] |
Related animals
- Asian swallowtail same vision type
- Coffee bee hawkmoth same vision type
- Common bluebottle butterfly same vision type
- Common eggfly same vision type
- Common evening brown same vision type
- Monarch butterfly same vision type
More insects: all insects with measured vision data.
Sources
- Stöckl A, Kelber A 2019. Fuelling on the wing: sensory ecology of hawkmoth foraging. Journal of Comparative Physiology A. doi.org/10.1007/s00359-019-01328-2
- 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
- Feller KD, Sharkey CR, McDuffee-Altekruse A, Bracken-Grissom HD, Lord NP, Porter ML, Schweikert LE 2021. Surf and turf vision: patterns and predictors of visual acuity in compound eye evolution. Arthropod Structure & Development 60:101002. doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2020.101002
- Currea JP, Sondhi Y, Kawahara AY, Theobald J. 2023. Measuring compound eye optics with microscope and microCT images. Commun Biol 6:246
- Comparative data for dance fly eye morphology and female ornamentation (Empididae). Data: Dryad doi:10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z. doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rr4xgxd5z
- Feuda R, Marletaz F, Bentley MA, Holland PWH. 2016. Conservation, duplication, and divergence of five opsin genes in insect evolution. Genome Biol Evol 8:579-587
- Sondhi Y, Ellis EA, Bybee SM, Theobald JC, Kawahara AY. 2021. Light environment drives evolution of color vision genes in butterflies and moths. Commun Biol 4:177
- 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
- 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
- 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). Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this?