A big ol moth has been hanging in a spider web on my ceiling for at least 6 years. His eyes were concave rather than convex and his tongue was not visible. I've been researching subject preparation and everyone advocated a few days in a high humidity container.
I aint got that much time to waste.
Douched my moth with lacquer thinner to cut the dust, oil, wax etc. etc. If you don't have thinner, a drop of dish detergent in a cup of water followed by a good (gentle) rinse. Dunked him head first in distilled water for 50 minutes. Used a needle to unroll his tongue which rolled back up by itself like a little watch spring.
Took a quick shot to show his tongue partially unrolled and the eye which was temporarily actually over hydrated. (osmosis is neat stuff). The subject returned to pancake flat immobility in 24 hours. Have had some success with mottled eyes (that hazy dead look) by using a drop of benzene.
I assume you do not smoke cigarettes.
Some serious pixelation on the eye. Would have been interesting to see the before shot. Curious, do you have many specimens that have been hanging around the house for 6+ years. Somehow I'm envisioning a Munsters abode....
A-PeeR wrote:
Some serious pixelation on the eye. Would have been interesting to see the before shot.
didn't take a before shot but here is the eye (without pixelation) about 24 hours after the hydrated shot. It is collapsing rapidly.
A-PeeR wrote:
...... Somehow I'm envisioning a Munsters abode....
As for the house keeping: Me and the spiders have an agreement. I don't bother them, and they don't bother me.
I would hazard a guess that you live alone... :mrgreen:
Just teasing. In the room where i work on my bench guns the tools reside in velvet lined tool boxes and you could eat off the floor. Though i no longer use it, the darkroom has two commercial HEPA filters, air conditioning and a water purification system.
This however is my room. A place where i can do as i wish. Where the doors and windows can remain open 24/7 ten months out of the year and wildlife is encouraged. Now if i can just train the spiders to drop me a choice macro subject now and then . . .
Old Tigger... the reanimator. Something spooky about this.
Some serious dirt accumilation in those webs OT. This is beyond the Munsters....
A-PeeR wrote:
Some serious dirt accumilation in those webs OT. This is beyond the Munsters....
That is a 23 year accumulation, been thinking of having it declared an historical site.
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