Beautiful Transience

I've always wondered how insects "see", as in how exactly the insect would integrate the information from dozens (hundreds?) of independent sense organs. Would it be similar to how we integrate the data from two desperate eyes forming a unified whole, or something different?

How would the added deformation of light due to dew (that was one of the coolest things I've ever typed) affect it?

in any case, beautiful pictures.

Wow. Just wow. Thanks.

I'm not an expert on insect eyes, so don't take anything I say as fact, but here's my vaguely recalled book learnin' mixed with an unknown amount of conjecture.

Insects really only respond to motion, some colors, and light. The eye is relatively simple, in terms of what it processes, and the brain doesn't really need to parse a whole image. There's just a hierarchy of responses. Something like red coming in along one pathway, given a modifier based on the number of eye units perceiving roughly contiguous sections of red, weighed against other inputs, and then an action is triggered based on what has the greatest weight at that moment.

We do similar things, of course, but with a more complex eye and brain we can also evaluate environments in a larger scope, then project consequences out along fictional timelines. Insects are more like integrated circuits, and react very much on immediate sensory values.

There's actually a neat game called BugBrain that allows you to play around with some of those concepts.
http://www.biologic.com.au/bugbrain/

Wow! Those sure are gorgeous images!

Are you familiar with this guy:

http://www.bugdreams.com/

His talent and focus depends on natural light and inhuman patience to get the right shot.

I think these may be some of the most beautiful photos I have ever seen. Thank you for sharing them!

wow! Are they photographed alive?