The distal photoreceptors in the tiered retina of Papilio exhibit different spectral sensitivities. There are at least two types of short-wavelength sensitive receptors: an ultraviolet receptor with a normal spectral shape and a violet receptor with a very narrow spectral bandwidth. Furthermore, a blue receptor, a double-peaked green receptor and a single-peaked green receptor exist. The violet receptor and single-peaked green receptor are only found in ommatidia that fluoresce under ultraviolet illumination. About 28% of the ommatidia in the ventral half of the retina exhibit the UV-induced fluorescence. The fluorescence originates from an ultraviolet-absorbing pigment, located in the most distal 70 mu m of the ommatidium, that acts as an absorption filter, both for a UV visual pigment, causing the narrow spectral sensitivity of the violet receptor, and for a green visual pigment, causing a single-peaked green receptor. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
