Dragonflies Can See a Color Humans Cannot, And It Could Transform Medicine

Scientists have discovered that dragonflies can detect extremely deep red light, near the edge of the infrared spectrum, a color invisible to human eyes. The surprising twist: they do it using the same molecular mechanism that humans evolved for color vision. The findings, published on April 9, 2026, could inspire new optical sensors and medical imaging technologies.

Seeing Beyond the Red

Human vision spans from violet (about 380 nanometers) to red (about 700 nanometers). Beyond 700 nm lies infrared, which we experience as heat but cannot see. Dragonflies, the new research shows, can detect light well into this deep red range that falls outside the human visible spectrum.

What makes this discovery remarkable is not just that dragonflies see differently from us, many animals do. It's that they achieve this using opsins, the same family of light-sensitive proteins found in human eyes. The dragonfly opsins have been modified through evolution to respond to longer wavelengths, but the fundamental molecular trick is shared across species.

Why Would Dragonflies Need to See Deep Red?

Dragonflies are aerial predators that hunt other insects in flight. The ability to detect deep red and near-infrared light may help them spot prey against bright skies, track movement in low-light conditions at dawn and dusk, or identify mates and rivals using color signals invisible to other predators. The exact ecological function is still being investigated.

Medical Applications

The molecular mechanism underlying dragonfly deep-red vision could be adapted for biomedical imaging. Near-infrared light penetrates tissue more deeply than visible light, making it valuable for noninvasive diagnostics. Understanding how dragonfly opsins achieve sensitivity at these wavelengths could lead to improved optical sensors, diagnostic devices, and surgical visualization tools.

The research opens new questions about the limits of vision in the animal kingdom and the untapped potential of molecular evolution for human technology.