Can caterpillars see?

Question

Do Swallowtail and other butterfly caterpillars see or do they have sensors on their bodies?

Answer 1

The structure of a butterfly’s eye is very different from that of a human eye. The butterfly has a compound eye comprised of many facets—in the case of the swallowtail, each of its eyes consists of an incredible 12,000 facets. The different facets do not of course see a different view of the world—rather, like the pixels of a digital camera, the facets collectively perceive a single view of the world.

As viewed externally, the facets all appear identical. However, they possess an astounding individuality, which accounts for why the butterfly can see the world in such rich colour.

Most caterpillars have six simple eyes, called 'ocelli' or 'stemmata.' Some species have fewer than six.