Hello,
my name is Peter and I´m from Nuremberg in Germany. I work as a finance controller.
Microscopy became one of my hobbies one year ago, after one of my friends gave me a small smartphone microsope lens.
Since then, I would like to make pictures and videos of living insects.
If someone has an advice, how I can take videos of f.e. ants, that eat sugar - or something similar, then please let me know.
Best Regards
Peter
Hello from Germany
Re: Hello from Germany
Peter, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the subject you are asking, but I'm sure you will get good answers from other members here.
Re: Hello from Germany
Welcome, Peter.
If you want to observe live ants in their natural habitat (without capturing and placing them in a petri dish), I suggest pentax papilio ii 8.5x21 binoculars. The Pentax, when used as macroscope, provides about 10x (not 8.5x in telescope mode). I have used mine that way, it is easy to use and image is sharp. But, it is not easy to adapt the binocular to take videos. This adapter may (or may not) work, depending on whether or not it can clamp securely onto the binocular eyepiece (the Pentx has small eyepieces though): http://www.amazon.com/Snapzoom-Digiscop ... ar+adapter
If you want to capture ants and imprison them in a petri dish, then you can use any dissecting macroscope at 10x-20x total magnification (1x -2x objective with 10x eyepieces). This way image will be better (than binocular) and capturing videos would he easier, especially if you have a trinocular tube.
To adapt your smartphone to a microscope (eyepiece), you can use any adapter that looks like Orion SteadyPix Pro:
http://www.amazon.com/Orion-SteadyPix-U ... B00I9RHNNI
One "customer image" there at Amazon shows you a phone adapted to microscope, using that adapter.
If you want to observe live ants in their natural habitat (without capturing and placing them in a petri dish), I suggest pentax papilio ii 8.5x21 binoculars. The Pentax, when used as macroscope, provides about 10x (not 8.5x in telescope mode). I have used mine that way, it is easy to use and image is sharp. But, it is not easy to adapt the binocular to take videos. This adapter may (or may not) work, depending on whether or not it can clamp securely onto the binocular eyepiece (the Pentx has small eyepieces though): http://www.amazon.com/Snapzoom-Digiscop ... ar+adapter
If you want to capture ants and imprison them in a petri dish, then you can use any dissecting macroscope at 10x-20x total magnification (1x -2x objective with 10x eyepieces). This way image will be better (than binocular) and capturing videos would he easier, especially if you have a trinocular tube.
To adapt your smartphone to a microscope (eyepiece), you can use any adapter that looks like Orion SteadyPix Pro:
http://www.amazon.com/Orion-SteadyPix-U ... B00I9RHNNI
One "customer image" there at Amazon shows you a phone adapted to microscope, using that adapter.
Last edited by zzffnn on Wed Feb 24, 2016 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Hello from Germany
Welcome Peter!
One of our members here does ants too.
One of our members here does ants too.
Re: Hello from Germany
Welcome Peter. With spring'16 coming...consider 'apple slice druggeg bees,wasps'...these come in all sizes..even the big ones are reversibly comatose when placed in a jar with a slice of fresh apple. Bumble bees are a delight, even the big Zercopter species.
You can then drag the apple slice out of the jar...and take your 'phone macro/micro images'. Look at the eyes and head..look for mite parasites on the bee. Look at the pollen baskets...what color pollen in the baskets.
Wide mouth plastic jar with tight fitting lid, cheal childs butter fly net, a fresh apple in your pocket, a knife to slice the apple, and a pleasant garden area...great field microscopy, Peter. Remember lots of bees and wasps are very small..but apple narcotises the huge European orchard wasps...I know, I've done it all the time.
Welcome, Peter. charlie guevara, finger lakes/US
You can then drag the apple slice out of the jar...and take your 'phone macro/micro images'. Look at the eyes and head..look for mite parasites on the bee. Look at the pollen baskets...what color pollen in the baskets.
Wide mouth plastic jar with tight fitting lid, cheal childs butter fly net, a fresh apple in your pocket, a knife to slice the apple, and a pleasant garden area...great field microscopy, Peter. Remember lots of bees and wasps are very small..but apple narcotises the huge European orchard wasps...I know, I've done it all the time.
Welcome, Peter. charlie guevara, finger lakes/US
Re: Hello from Germany
First I would like to thank all of you for the advice, given already. Very useful information.
And this apple trick, is this working onyl with bees?
Because I could´nt find nothing similar in the German web.
And this apple trick, is this working onyl with bees?
Because I could´nt find nothing similar in the German web.