Leitz Ortholux microscope
4X Leitz projection eyepiece plus 32:1 relay lens
Olympus 10x Plan Achromat objective.
Image stack, 126 images at 5 micron increments
Reflected light, diffused fiber optic illumination
Canon 50D
Zerene and Photoshop processing.
Expired subject.
Production help on this image has to be credited to the unwilling assistance of a mud- dauber wasp who had attacked and paralyzed this spider and to my wife for alerting me to this assault. The stung spider victim was stolen from the wasp as it was being transported to the wasp’s nest.
The battle and wasp venom left the jaws of the spider partially open and frozen in that position. My good fortune was that the slightly opened state of the chelicera exposed most of the fangs and on the left jaw, three triangle shaped teeth. One is also barely visible on the right jaw.
Although not as detailed in the stacked image as in single images, I am impressed by the serrated edged blades on base of the fang. It is most prominent on the lower right corner of the image.
Walt
