Visual gaze bias motion detection by split eyes in miniature whiteflies

Vision in miniature insects is constrained by an extremely small number of ommatidia and brain cells available for image processing. Here, we explore how one millimeter whiteflies cope with these limits during vision-mediated locomotion by linking micro-tomographical reconstructions of the eye to changes in visual gaze in maneuvering flight. The split eye design accommodates two flat arrays with 31 and 42 ommatidia at 53° mean angular spacing, which limits panoramic view. Low optical resolution with 14.4° interommatidial angle hampers object recognition and visual motion detection needed for body posture stability reflexes. During maneuvering, mean gaze direction of both eye sections differs in elevation and azimuth depending on yaw, pitch, and roll angles. Dorsal and ventral eye sections thus receive visual information from specific areas in the visual environment. Collectively, splitting the eye into separate ommatidia arrays potentially allows whiteflies to maintain elaborate vision-controlled flight behaviors even at reduced visual capacity.