The eye, which is made from individual "ommatidia" - or single lenses - arranged in a dome shape, is similar in structure to an insect's compound eye. Scientists in the US have made the first artificial eye using 3D polymer structures.
![insect eye xsection insect eye xsection](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/07/06/18/59949129-10988611-image-a-12_1657128873238.jpg)
Ocelli aren’t as complex or powerful as the compound eyes. Most larvae only have ocelli, but a few have compound eyes, like the larvae of dragonflies.
![insect eye xsection insect eye xsection](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/insect-life-wild-insects-have-three-part-body-head-thorax-abdomen-pairs-jointed-legs-compound-eyes-one-pair-antennae-156848344.jpg)
Insects generally have three of these arranged in a triangle on their forehead. The second type of eye is much smaller and much harder to spot. Which is what makes them such good hunters and even allows them to catch other insects, mid-flight, when hunting for prey! The more of these lenses an insect has in each eye, the better it can see.ĭragonflies, for example, have about 30,000 individual lenses in each eye Compound eyes are made up of hundreds or even thousands of tiny lenses all arranged together that let the insect see a sort of mosaic of the world around it. The big ones we can see are called compound eyes. But did you know that insects actually have two different types of eyes? If you look at an insect it can be pretty easy to spot their eyes. Finally, the abdomen houses most of the internal organs of the insect, as well as stings and ovipositors (egg laying organs) in certain species. The thorax usually carries three pairs of legs as well as one or two pairs of wings in some species. The head is where we find their eyes, antennae, mouth parts. Insects have three distinct sections to their body: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. Above is a typical body plan for an insect, showing the main parts that most insects share.