Compound eye

Compound eye, organ of vision consisting of many tiny, closely packed lenses. The number of lenses varies from fewer than 100 to more than 20,000, depending on species. Compound eyes differ from the camera-type eye of only one lens. They apparently produce “mosaics” of light and color rather than clear images. Members of the phylum Arthropoda (spiders, insects, crustaceans, etc.) have compound eyes.

See also: Insect.