Morphological traits of the eyes of Lepidoptera indicate selection for binocular vision in both diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths

Morphological traits of the eyes of Lepidoptera indicate selection for binocular vision in both diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Morphological traits of the eyes of Lepidoptera indicate selection for binocular vision in both diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths Wei-Ping Chan, Katherine Angier, Even Dankowicz, Caroline Elson, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4203706/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study provides a heuristic model linking gross morphological features of compound eyes in butterflies and moths and potential visual functions related to detectability, resolution and stereopsis. This framework, combined with empirical data from 2,730 specimens representing 224 species widely sampled across a tribal level phylogeny of butterflies and a recent genomic sampling of moths, supports the hypothesis that advantages of binocular vision select for morphological architecture enhancing detectability in nocturnal species and stereopsis in diurnal species. While these results are not entirely surprising given the different light environments that these species inhabit, our analysis also uncovered a strong correlation between eye size and interocular distance, particularly in diurnal Lepidoptera. In general, males have eyes that are more ventral facing than those of females, although this effect is more pronounced in some groups than others. Diurnal butterflies exhibit a striking phylogenetic pattern in the distribution of dorsal- and ventral-facing eyes that deserves additional research. Biological sciences/Zoology/Entomology Biological sciences/Evolution binocular vision eye size inter-eye distance interocular distance stereopsis depth percepon diel acvity Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4203706","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":293356387,"identity":"75829ed0-b4c8-4f72-9a60-1a7497525290","order_by":0,"name":"Wei-Ping 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