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The freaky thing is those black spots are probably the only bits of their eyes that they don't see out of.
Really? The dots certainly seemed to be following me around as I moved around her. Although that could be the case whether she was seeing through them or not I suppose.
The dots aren't following you around :) They're called pseudopupils. You're seeing down the "tubes" (ommatidia) of the composite eyes (heavy oversimplification because I'm no scientist).
A smarter person explains this here: https://www.readingeagle.com/2015/09/16/outside-some-insects-look-like-theyre-looking-at-you-but-are-they
Yeah that's a better explanation than mine lol. I was thinking their were analogous to human blind spots - there's a spot in both eyes where the nerves are and there are no sensors there. Our brains filter that out, but if you get a sheet of paper marked in the right places and hold it at just the right distance, you can see the markings disappear once you put them in your blind spot. The Wiki page for it actually has a version you can do on your device.
In fact, the pseudopupil is a different type of eye altogether, according to your link, it's essentially just a light sensor and isn't thought to provide an actual image.
The dark pseudopupil is the ommatidium that happen to be pointing towards you, and you are seeing the dark light-absorbing cells at the bottom of them. It doesn’t mean the insect is interested in or paying attention to you. If an insect’s compound eyes aren’t spherical, the pseudopupil will look off-center, making it seem as if they are looking slightly away from you. I especially notice this with praying mantis eyes.
Fascinating, thanks so much for sharing. It is remarkable how much they seemed like they were watching me. I took a video of it the other when it was around. I guess it could just be that I'm darker than the background and so it wants to follow that darkness movement.
Oh my god, thank you for that video, it's fantastic. She's so cute! I never saw a real mantis and this is fascinating.
... According to observations.be, they are present (albeit very rare) in Belgium, so I guess you've started me on a new life quest. 📸
You're very welcome! That observations website is fantastic, I've got a little bioacoustics community and I'm going to add it to the list of resources there, thanks for sharing it!
I don't think I've ever seen a praying mantis in real life until now. This is in Okinawa, Japan. Most of the time, she was rocking back like this, and whenever I would get close she would stretch out to climb on me. She would sort of fly a little bit sometimes, and when I found her, she was on my balcony, but she hasn't been back around since the day I saw her. I read that they are the only insect that can turn their heads independent of their bodies. Also, there is a Spiny Flower Mantis that is definetly worth checking out!
Edit: fixed a link.
The spiny flower mantis is gorgeous. It looks more like a piece of fantasy art than a real insect. Surreal.
Also, is your link possibly wrong on the "like this"?
Oh my, you're right. That definitely is the wrong link! Here is the correct one.
Thank you, I love it!