Into the eyes of darkness: A first look at the ultrastructure of Elenchus koebelei eyes

Strepsiptera are an enigmatic order. At every turn they seem to have yet another odd modification. For me, it all started with the eyes. In this study I trying to see why it is that an array of simple eyes might be more suitable for their vision than a compound eye of any other make. Here I am poised to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to probe the ultrastructure of a strepsipteran eye - not that of a highly derived diurnal species, but something a bit more plesiomorphic. In this way one might see how this particular peculiarity evolved. As the only known eyes of their kind, they are certainly worth a closer look.