Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle: This is a longhorn beetle that I preserved in diluted "White Vinegar" six months ago as an experiment to compare preservation between using denatured...

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Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle

Jul 15, 2022 18:19:03 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

This is a longhorn beetle that I preserved in diluted"White Vinegar"six months ago as an experiment to compare preservation between using denatured alcohol and white vinegar as an alternative.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the beetle had preserved and maintained a fair degree of mobility of its limbs. Denatured alcohol is a good preservative, however, it tends to stiffen the specimens and the colors tend to fade over time. This does not appear to be the case with white vinegar's acetic acid when diluted with distilled water to 3 to 5%.

I staged this focus stacked session using the 85mm 1X-5X super macro lens and the LED soft light panel with no diffusion.

(Download)

Jul 15, 2022 19:04:27 #

Quixdraw Loc: x

A dandy! I am always impressed with your skill in this genre.

Jul 15, 2022 20:37:15 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Quixdraw wrote:

A dandy! I am always impressed with your skill in this genre.

Thanks, Quixdraw. Glad that you could stop by.

Jul 16, 2022 06:39:37 #

docshark Loc: Millersville, PA

Looking good Gary. A fine specimen and well preserved. Nice job my friend.
>i< Doc

Jul 16, 2022 07:54:19 #

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Really nice, Gary.
Is it 5x?

Jul 16, 2022 08:35:10 #

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

That is interesting about Acetic Acid and it has worked well. A beautiful stack again.

Jul 16, 2022 09:50:37 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

docshark wrote:

Looking good Gary. A fine specimen and well preserved. Nice job my friend.
>i< Doc

Thanks, Doc. I have a May beetle, stinkbug, and the longhorn beetle preserved in dilute white vinegar as a controlled experiment in preservation. After six months they all appear to be holding up well. I was most impressed with the mobility of their limbs and the retention of colors. The yellows of the beetle are bright and whites, yellows, and orange colors are always troublesome for me for they tend to blow out details and I'll be darn if I can find the means to prevent it. When I use exposure compensation, I lose the darks in the shadows. When I open the shadows, I blow out the brights on brightly colored specimens. It drives me crazy.

Jul 16, 2022 09:51:18 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

ecobin wrote:

Really nice, Gary.
Is it 5x?

Thanks, Elliott. This one is at 2-1/2 X magnification.

Jul 16, 2022 09:54:05 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

EnglishBrenda wrote:

That is interesting about Acetic Acid and it has worked well. A beautiful stack again.

Thanks, Brenda. My theory was that if white vinegar is good enough to hold pickles forever, then it should be good enough for a preserved specimen....or not.

Jul 16, 2022 09:59:31 #

docshark Loc: Millersville, PA

sippyjug104 wrote:

Thanks, Doc. I have a May beetle, stinkbug, and t... (show quote)

I understand your probmel. I run into that occasionally with white on some dragons.
>i< Doc

Jul 16, 2022 10:34:36 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

docshark wrote:

I understand your probmel. I run into that occasionally with white on some dragons.
>i< Doc

Doc, I stage my sessions under lighting and I take several hundred shots in a session stack of images with each at a different depth of focus. This adds to troublesome brights and how to protect them without being at the expense of other tones.

Jul 16, 2022 10:44:57 #