The difference in hunting behavior may be linked to the placement of the insects’ eyes. Jewel wings’ eyes are on either side of the head, facing forward. The eyes of these dragonflies — the species Sympetrum vulgatum, also known as the vagrant darter — encase the top of the insect’s head in an iridescent dome, with a thin line running down the middle the only visible reminder that they may have once been separate.

“Both eyes work together as a continuous panorama,” said Dr. Gonzalez-Bellido of such dragonflies.

The visual neurons that guide the dragonfly’s wing muscles operate almost as if the creature had a single eye with a cross hair running vertically, prior research has found.

To look closer at the neurons linking vision and flight, the researchers equipped jewel wings with sensors and showed them a video of a moving dot, comparing it with earlier dragonfly research. When a neuron fired, a popping sound filled the researchers’ ears, allowing them to tell exactly which movements — left, right, up, down or some combination — each neuron responded to. Jewel wings best see what’s right in front of them, they found, while dragonflies’ clearest vision is just above them.