Do Japanese Beetles Have Eyes?

Japanese beetles are not blind. Just like most other insects, Japanese beetles have two compound eyes. They can’t see with too much clarity, but they make do.

One big benefit of Japanese beetle eyes is that they have an almost panoramic vision of their entire surroundings. Because of the way the compound eye is shaped, it allows for near 360° vision except for the blind spot made by their body.

Japanese beetles rely mostly on their sense of smell and not so much on their eyesight for completing their daily tasks of finding food, etc. They can detect chemicals carried in the air from all distances, and that is mainly how they navigate and locate the things that they need.

The Japanese beetle has sensitive chemical receptors that react to pheromones that are released by plants and flowers. If you’ve ever used a Japanese beetle trap, you know how powerful the sweet smelling lures are in those contraptions.

The eyes of Japanese beetles can see contrast between dark and light, but cannot see colors in the same way that we can. The only difference they see between blue and yellow is the difference in contrast.

Their relatively poor eyesight makes little difference to the survival of the Japanese beetle because they have evolved to use other methods of interacting with their environment.

If you want to attract Japanese beetles, don’t appeal to their vision. Appeal to their “noses.”