Summary
Carabid species of the visually hunting type living in dim habitats have larger frontal ommatidia and gain their optimal visual performance with lower light intensity than species inhabiting bright places.
The latter phenomenon is based upon the mechanisms of light adaptation, which reduce the acceptance angles of the ommatidia thus increasing their visual acuity. In more sensitive ommatidia adaptation occurs with lower light intensity.
The differences between the species concerning the intensity dependence of their visual performance are regarded as an effect of natural selection. Thereafter an apposition eye more sensitive to light should be advantageous in a dim environment.
This hypothesis has been investigated and verified by observation of the predation behaviour of Notiophilus biguttatus confronted with Collembola: From 1 to 500 lux the hunting success of the beetles increased proportionally to the light intensity.
Measurements of the activity at dawn and at dusk under natural conditions showed that the beginning and the conclusion of activity are correlated with a critical level of illumination. Notiophilus biguttatus starts being active if the illumination is sufficient for successful hunting.
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Bauer, T., Brauner, U. & Fischerleitner, E. The relevance of the brightness to visual acuity, predation, and activity of visually hunting ground-beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Oecologia 30, 63–73 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344892
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344892