What, *Another* Microscope?

Not that long ago I upgraded my trusty old Apex Practitioner compound microscope. This old friend had served me well and I was sad to see it go, but I felt I was ready for something better. After considerable research and some disappointing customer service from a company I have used in the past, I finally settled on an AmScope T720 microscope. Things didn't work out that well. For one thing, after a couple of attempts at different configurations, darkfield microscopy proved to be impossible with this instrument, which was a disappointment. As I used it more, the limitations became more apparent. Let me be clear, the T720 isn't a bad microscope, it just wasn't the upgrade I was looking for. AmScope (and similar) microscopes definitely have a place in the market. If you need a cheap microscope, I'd definitely consider one, especially a used one - of which there are plenty around. Consider it a disposable item and don't expect much in the way of customer service. Don't overpay for one.

After some more poor customer service from my previous supplier, I finally settled on a Brunel SP300 compound microscope, which is the top model in their line. I went for the brightfield option with infinity corrected plan x4, x10, x20, x40 and x100 (oil immersion) objectives but one of the nice things about this instrument is the flexibility. A sub-condenser slider makes darkfield and phase contrast possible, although I've decided to skip phase contrast again for now. It's not "proper" darkfield, just like this instrument doesn't have "proper" Kohler illumination, but if it gets the job done it's good enough. A couple of simple and economic attachments also make polarized light microscopy available, which for my purposes is a "nice to have" (and nice to play with on a rainy day!). I was able to reuse the camera adapter bought for the AmScope so incurred no extra cost. It was suggested to me that the SP300 was "equivalent to a Leica". Never having owned a Leica I can't verify that. I'm still assessing the optical performance but first my first impressions are favourable. Importantly, in contrast to my recent interactions with microscope companies, I cannot praise Brunel's customer service highly enough - a very important factor. 

In summary, if you're looking to step up from an entry level microscope but can't/don't want to spend silly megabucks, I strongly recommend the Brunel SP300 microscope. 

Cardiastethus fasciiventris male paramere. 

Tilia stem section, polarized light, focus stack of 480 images (prepared slide).

Crystallography

What's the point of buying a new microscope if you can't have some fun? Given the recent poor weather and the fact that I've just bought a microscope with a polarising filter, I recrystallized some household stuff and this are the first results. I didn't buy a polarising microscope to look at inorganic substances, but to utilize birefringent properties of tissues to enhance visualization - but more of that later.

Sea salt

Sodium bicarbonate

Sucrose (sugar)

Following a suggestion online, I also added a retarder (wave plate) to the polarizer (the lid of a polypropylene specimen box - CD jewel cases are good). Recrystalized sea salt (mostly NaCl), polarised image (left), plus retarder (right).

 

The Loneliest Moth in Leicester

The last couple of weeks have certainly felt like winter, which is not a bad thing - seasonality is to be welcomed. One frosty evening I was washing up after dinner when I spotted a moth on the kitchen window. Although I had never seen this species before I knew instantly what it was, which made the ensuing scramble to get a pot and catch it before it flew off even more frantic. Lonely Walter, as I called him, was a Winter Moth, Operophtera brumata. And he's definitely he/him as the females are flightless and hang around being smelly (in an alluring pheromone sort of way) and waiting for the males to find them. 

He's not the smartest looking Winter Moth you ever did see, but he is the first Winter Moth I've ever seen in our suburban garden. While Operophtera brumata is by no means a rare species, it's rare around here - there hasn't been a record within five miles in the last five years. It's also one of the moths that makes old mothers go dewy-eyed and start reminiscing about the moth snowstorm in car headlights in country lanes on winter nights. It's been a bad year for nature, with climate extremes, the Government's war on wildlife and more neighbouring gardens being stripped of vegetation, paved over and a couple of non-native plants stuck in. It would be nice to think that Lonely Walter represents a beacon of hope, and in a sense he does - Nature will find a way, etc, etc. In reality, I fear that Walter is a remnant of what we have lost. As I let him go after having his mugshot taken I wished him well, willing him to use his battered wings to find all the smelly females he dreams of. I hope he did.

Good Vibrations?

While I'm yet to catch up with the Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi, I have long puzzled over the stabilimentum, a structure produced these spiders to decorate their orb webs. A new study shows that stabilimenta induce negligible delays in prey perception for transverse vibrations and only minor delays for normal and tangential vibrations, primarily due to the added inertial mass. However, for tangential vibrations, the presence of stabilimenta may enhance the spider’s ability to localize prey due to increased connectivity at the center of the orb web. It's an interesting finding but it doesn't eliminate the possibility of other functions, such as making these large webs more visible and so less subject to damage by animals blundering through them. 

Greco G, Dal Poggetto VF, Lenzini L, Castellucci F, Pugno NM (2025) The effect of different structural decoration geometries on vibration propagation in spider orb webs. PLoS One 20(10): e0332593. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332593

 

Entomology Update - October 2025

Although the weather has returned to "normal" the effects of the spring-summer drought linger with insect numbers down on what should be there. 

Shrinking Springtails

Recently I came across a springtail that gave me pause for thought.

Competition Time!

Guess the mystery objects! 

Spiders of the Rutland Water Lagoons: An Exploratory Survey

"This report tells the story of an ambitious survey of invertebrates at Rutland Water nature reserve in England. We used pitfall traps across several lagoons, hoping to focus on spiders but deciding to record everything we caught. Around sixty traps went out. Some were lost to flooding, others raided by crows. Even so, more than a thousand spiders were recovered, along with a by-catch of beetles and other groups. The work was far bigger than we expected. It took time, energy, and patience to bring the results together. Four years later - and with help from many generous volunteers - we are at last ready to share the findings. This report covers only the spider records."

Fungal Defence

A new research paper shows that a Japanese shieldbug uses fungi to ward off parasitoid wasp attacks. 

Notable Finds

Drymus pumilio, second record for VC55.

Agallia brachyptera

Anakelisia fasciata, second record for VC55.

Eupteryx thoulessi, second record for VC55.

Kolbia quisquiliarum, first record for VC55.

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Fungal Defence

I'm not very good at rearing larval insects, and on the few occasions that I have I've wound up with parasitoid wasps rather than what I was hoping for. Parasitoid wasps are hugely important in shaping insect populations, to the extent that I have often wondered how any insects survive. A new research paper shows that a Japanese shieldbug, Megymenum gracilicorne, uses fungi to ward off attacks. The females have organs on their hind legs which harbour fungi that the females use to coat newly laid eggs. The fungal hyphae grow to envelop the eggs and this physically excludes parasitoid wasps until the eggs hatch. While we don't have any Dinidorid shieldbugs in the UK, it might still be worth checking the hind legs of female shieldbugs carefully for any signs of similar structure. 

Nishino, T., Moriyama, M., Mukai, H., Tanahashi, M., Hosokawa, T., Chang, H. Y., & Fukatsu, T. (2025) Defensive fungal symbiosis on insect hindlegs. Science, 390(6770), 279-283. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10996522/pdf/nihpp-2024.03.25.586038v1.pdf

 

Spiders of the Rutland Water Lagoons

Palmer, P., Cann, A., Sexton, T., Fox, B., & Pitt-Miller, S. (2025) Spiders of the Rutland Water Lagoons: An Exploratory Survey. ISBN 979-8269245362 Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVMMK466

"This report tells the story of an ambitious survey of invertebrates at Rutland Water nature reserve in England. We used pitfall traps across several lagoons, hoping to focus on spiders but deciding to record everything we caught. Around sixty traps went out. Some were lost to flooding, others raided by crows. Even so, more than a thousand spiders were recovered, along with a by-catch of beetles and other groups. The work was far bigger than we expected. It took time, energy, and patience to bring the results together. Four years later - and with help from many generous volunteers - we are at last ready to share the findings. This report covers only the spider records."

 

Competition Time!

click for larger view (answer at bottom of page)

Guess the mystery objects! 

Actually, there is a point to this. One of the best aspects of OM cameras is the built-in focus bracketing. However, I'm finding that as I push the magnification more and more (here the OM 90mm macro lens plus Raynox DCR250 stacked with a Raynox DCR 150, giving a total of ~5x magnification on the sensor), the quality of my images is at best hit and miss - I'm simply asking the OM software to do too much with hand held stacks. So I sold my old full size tripod which I never use and more and bought a cheap(ish) tabletop tripod. 

Problem solved. 

Scroll down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Chia seeds, ~1.5mm length.

 

Entomology Update - September 2025

A shorter journal this month. There has been a lot going on but not too much entomology to write about yet.

Buy one, get one free

A German hitchhiker. 

Diffusion Diffusion Diffusion

The importance of diffusion in macro photography and microscopy.

Microscope upgrade

I bought a new microscope. 

Notable Finds

Flastena fumipennis - second VC55 record

Eupteryx filicum

Adarrus multinotatus

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