Question

The compound eye of an insect

• A. Forms coloured images
• B. Detects only the intensity and direction of light
• C. Detects only infrared light
• D. Forms only black and white images

Answer 1

The correct option is A Forms coloured images

The eye of an insect is called as compound eyes because they are made up of repeating units, the ommatidia, each of which functions as a separate visual receptor. Each ommatidium consists of a lens, a transparent crystalline cones, light-sensitive visual cells and pigment cells.
The compound eye is excellent at detecting motion as well.
Some insects are able to distinguish colors and form colored images. This requires two or more pigments, each of which absorbs at a different wavelength.
For example, in the honeybee, four of the visual cells in each ommatidium respond best to yellow-green light (544nm); two responds maximally to blue light (436nm); the remaining two respond best to ultraviolet light (344nm).
Therefore, the correct answer is option A.