Eye resuscitation

A forum to ask questions, post setups, and generally discuss anything having to do with photomacrography and photomicroscopy.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

BugEZ
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:15 pm
Location: Loves Park Illinois

Eye resuscitation

Post by BugEZ »

I have taken many photos of flies with colorful eyes. I have had push to collect stacks prior to the degradation of eye color that occurs as the insect dries out (?).

An example is shown here of a doli.

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... hp?t=14702


Each of the stacks shown in the link were taken in sequence. Notice especially the first true stereo pair. One was shot in the evening; the next was shot the following AM, approximately 8 hours later.

I was discussing the eye color of Tabanid flies (deer flies and horse flies) with a biologist at NYU. He was hoping to recover the eye color in some long dead specimens at the American Museum of Natural History by rehydration. Has anyone on the forum ever tried this?

Thoughts please...

Thanks !

Keith
Last edited by BugEZ on Thu Mar 15, 2012 2:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

NikonUser
Posts: 2693
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 am
Location: southern New Brunswick, Canada

Post by NikonUser »

That is a standard technique for tabanids but from what I have seen and tried it restores only the pattern and perhaps some vague indication of colour. It is useful for tabanids because species identification can be dependent upon eye pattern (see http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejou ... /t_13.html).

The eyes will never look anywhere near 'fresh' eyes and is of limited, or no, use for restoring eyes to their former glory. Storing freshly killed flies in a freezer will often preserve eye colour in many flies for many months. Such flies then have to photographed within hours of removal before eye colour fades.♠
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

BugEZ
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:15 pm
Location: Loves Park Illinois

Post by BugEZ »

NikonUser,

Thanks for the info. I will pass this along.


Keith

johan
Posts: 1005
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 7:39 am
Contact:

Post by johan »

NikonUser wrote:Storing freshly killed flies in a freezer will often preserve eye colour in many flies for many months. Such flies then have to photographed within hours of removal before eye colour fades.♠
NU, would you happen to know if this is also true of other insects or is this just a fly thing?

Thanks

-Johan
My extreme-macro.co.uk site, a learning site. Your comments and input there would be gratefully appreciated.

NikonUser
Posts: 2693
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 am
Location: southern New Brunswick, Canada

Post by NikonUser »

The best way to store freshly dead insects is in a sealed container in a freezer (I believe mine runs at about -20C).
Eye colour always seems the first to change and it is a time related thing - the longer the time the more degradation. Certainly best to photograph insects immediately after death but insects collected in the summer should look 'fresh' if photographed later on the same year. Perhaps the most difficult group to retain colour are the odonates (damselflies and dragonflies); it is always best to photograph them alive - they respond well to cooling, they can be photographed and released. An exception are the Aeshnids which change colour in response to temperature, bright blue when warm darker dirty colour when cooled.

Bottom line: best to photograph all insects when alive, next best freshly dead, next best after as little time as possible frozen.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic