I have been working quite a bit of macro and micro photography into my iNaturalist observations this past year.
When I started photographing aphids, the experts I talked to didn't think more obscure species could be identified from photos. As I learned more, I saw their point. However if you work through a key, photographing every feature in the key it is usually possible to do. You just need photos of the right features with the right measurements.
Here is an aphid I have yet to get to species conclusively(https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/10072629). It is either Chaitophorus utahensis or a similar but undescribed species in that genus.
I start with macro photos of the aphids:
Then I slide mount them and take an overall photo using an Amscope 4x objective. On that I take a bunch of measurements which I know are commonly required to work through keys:
Then I go through a key taking photos of other characteristics which are needed to make it to an identification. When I need good quality I use a Nikon E Plan PH3 40x objective
It is on a Labophot microscope with brightfield dark field and phase contrast. I was too cheap for a trinocular head so I just put a dovetail adapter and a bunch of extension tubes on it.
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All the photos are taken with an a6300 camera. I put it in silent shutter mode on the camera app, then have continuously take photos while I move the focus.
I stack in Zerene Stacker then add scale bars and clean up the background in Photoshop.
Aphid Identification
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
Canada balsam
Yeah, they are permanently mounted. I learned to make mounts in Canada Balsam by watching some online videos.
Here is a description of the procedure:
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/glm ... ication-ii
Here is a description of the procedure:
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/glm ... ication-ii