[tn-moths] Live moth microscopy
- From: "Doug Bruce" <s137@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TN Moths" <tn-moths@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 17:03:42 -0500
The only moths appearing at my porch light recently have been Toothed
Phigalias. (Note to Jean: not FOY.)
The variability of their markings is interesting, so I have been photographing
every individual to compare them. These moths are very lethargic, probably
because of the temperature, so it's been feasible to move them indoors briefly
for photography.
This morning I had just finished shooting the latest arrival when my eye fell
on the microscope on the other side of the table. Hmm. Surely this moth's
docility wouldn't extend to allowing photomicroscopy?
I don't have an adaptor for mating the camera to the microscope, but I found
that the camera could be reasonably stabilized on top of a custom-built stack
of books in front of the eyepiece. Amazingly, a single nudge with a jeweler's
screwdriver encouraged the moth to climb onto the middle of a microscope slide,
where it immediately resumed its complete motionlessness.
Low magnification (40x plus some random amount of camera optical zoom):
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/DougLepidoptera/2010%20Moths/06659AndersonCo06Feb2010Micro1.jpg
Higher magnification (100x plus some random amount of camera optical zoom):
http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae204/DougLepidoptera/2010%20Moths/06659AndersonCo06Feb2010Micro2.jpg
I returned this individual outdoors to a sheltered mound of dry leaves,
hopefully unharmed by the temperature changes.
Doug Bruce
Oak Ridge, TN
Anderson Co.
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