I've seen some (mostly antique) arrangements of butterfly scales around the web, and am curious about the details of how they are made.
What's a good fixative and/or mounting media to make a permanent slide? And would the process be different if the colours are due to iridescence?
Thanks in advance for any information.
Butterfly scale slides
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
Butterfly scale slides
Geoff
Butterfly scales can be mounted in pretty much any standard mountant - Canada Balsam, DPX, even high RI ones like zrax. Just dust some scales onto a slide, cover with a drop of mountant, add a coverslip and dry as appropriate for the mountant.
However, iridescence will disappear if the scales are immersed in mountant. To preserve that, it's best to cut out a small section of the wing and make a dry mount with it instead.
If you're particularly keen, you could try arranging individual scales on a thin substrate of something like tragacanth and make dry mounts that way instead. That's on my "wannado" list too as I'd really like to try replicating the work of Henry "Harold" Dalton (one day). Amazing work! http://www.mjt.org/exhibits/dalton/daltonimage.html
However, iridescence will disappear if the scales are immersed in mountant. To preserve that, it's best to cut out a small section of the wing and make a dry mount with it instead.
If you're particularly keen, you could try arranging individual scales on a thin substrate of something like tragacanth and make dry mounts that way instead. That's on my "wannado" list too as I'd really like to try replicating the work of Henry "Harold" Dalton (one day). Amazing work! http://www.mjt.org/exhibits/dalton/daltonimage.html
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Olympusman
- Posts: 5090
- Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm
Wing scale slides
The main reason butterfly and moths are so colorful is because of iridescence. Mounting in a liquid medium cancels the refraction effects of the surface of the scales that provides the color of the insect.
As Beatsy said, a dry mount is a good ( if not the best) way to preserve a wing for wing scale photography.
Once I have sepataed the wing from the carcass, I put a small drop of mountant (Canadian Balsam- whatever) on the slide to glue the thorax end of the wing to the slide. Then I put down dots of the same mountant at positions where the glass cover slip will go, position the cover slip over the wing on the slide and press lightly with the rounded back end of the tweezers to flatten the mount.
Mike
As Beatsy said, a dry mount is a good ( if not the best) way to preserve a wing for wing scale photography.
Once I have sepataed the wing from the carcass, I put a small drop of mountant (Canadian Balsam- whatever) on the slide to glue the thorax end of the wing to the slide. Then I put down dots of the same mountant at positions where the glass cover slip will go, position the cover slip over the wing on the slide and press lightly with the rounded back end of the tweezers to flatten the mount.
Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA