Three Eyes (What You Gonna Do Now?)

A lunchtime walk down the rail trail today had me admiring the wildlife on a goldenrod flower.
Meet the Paper Wasp (Polistes):

This shot really shows off the three simple eyes or ocelli that are between the wasp's compound eyes. I read on the old Wikipedia that these ocelli are more strongly expressed in flying insects, especially wasps.

From what I've read, these eyes suck at discerning forms, but they are better than compound eyes at seeing light.  Think of them as little light meters. The jury is still out as to their exact function.

In an exclusive to Blogging the Imagination^TM, here's another shot of our lovely little sister:

The title of this post is a tip o' the hat to The Lovin' Spoonful song Four Eyes.