Comparative analysis reveals an inverse correlation between ocellar size and light intensity thresholds in bees, indicating that enlarged simple eyes enhance dim-light visual sensitivity.
The occurrence of enlarged ocelli in nocturnal foraging bees has led to a quantitative study of the relation between ocellar size and foraging activity in a number of species of bees. The results show a negative correlation between ocellar size and the light intensity threshold for foraging. Ocelli also increase with head size, but this relationship is not as good a predictor of ocellar size as is the light intensity threshold. No nocturnal foraging bees have small head sizes, and it is suggested that this may be the result of selection for larger ocelli for bees that forage at very low light intensities. The results are all compatible with the observation that ocelli serve as enhancers of the sensitivity of compound eyes.
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William B. Kerfoot (1967) studied this question.
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