Sylvicola Fenestratus

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Thu May 21, 2009 12:57 pm

El-Nikkor 500/4, reversed at 150mm extension
Light is from two SB-R200 units at 1/8 power
ZS, about 70 slices at 51um a slice

Somewhat droopy but at least I didn't pull it's tail off this time

After this stack I tried a higher mag using my Nikon 10x microscope objective at 12um slices. Some motion blur (?) either from the stage (I'll try it on my fine stage movement next) or I think from my wife's serger pounding away in the same room. What is bizarre is the loss of colour from some of the eye - any ideas what is happening or is this the normal eye colouration ?

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:13 pm

I like that top image a lot! Having the rear wing be OOF helps with the separation, and the end-of-the-stack transition line is not so sharp as to catch my attention.

Nice background too. What is it, and how did you separate the specimen from it?

By "loss of colour" do you mean that some of the ommatidia are still black while others look pale pink? If so, I think that's due to separation of layers within the eye as it dries out slightly. I see it a lot with dried or drying specimens, never with one that's completely fresh.

--Rik

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:24 pm

Hi Rik,

Thanks

I've got enough slices to capture everything but I preferred this set. I think there is balance to be found in everything and often the trick is deciding how much of an image needs to be sharp.

The background is a gif of "MARPAT Wood digital camouflage", printed and sitting about 1cm behind the fly. I've been playing with different backgrounds and this is my favourite - this week !

The eye - yes, the "pinkness". Also it has been flashed something like 300 times so I wonder if there is some sort of bleaching as well as drying going on ?

Andrew

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu May 21, 2009 1:36 pm

I don't have a clue about the possibility of bleaching.

I do know that flashes in general can have some interesting effects even on live bugs. I once took just a couple of film shots of a pupa of Pieris occidentalis that was barely starting to develop wingspots visible through the chrysalis. The ones on the side next to the flash stopped developing. The ones on the other side continued, but the adult never emerged.

It's easy to imagine that flashes don't have any effect on live insects when they don't visibly react to them. But that's a matter of faith, not observation.

--Rik

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu May 21, 2009 11:32 pm

AndrewC wrote: The eye - yes, the "pinkness". Also it has been flashed something like 300 times so I wonder if there is some sort of bleaching as well as drying going on ?
Andrew

What does the other one look like?

Harold

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Fri May 22, 2009 1:30 am

Not easy to get to the way it is mounted, although there is no change in it overnight (ah, the delights of a tethered camera on a motorised stacking stage - still set up from last night so I just hit "start" and ran off a 50 slice stack while drinking coffee and checking email)

The next time I find one expiring on the windowsill I'll take a full frontal.

Andrew