Establishment of the optic lobe placode. In Drosophila, for example, the placode appears in the dorsolateral region of the head in late stage 11 embryos and is the precursor to the larval visual system. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8402833 GOC:mtg_sensu ]

Synonyms: optic lobe placode formation optic lobe and Bolwig's organ precursor formation