Microscope Suggestions for IDing tarantulas and spiders

[Jacobospider5]

hey guys i wanted to know what scopes you guys had for examing your ts and what magnification they are. I want to know if I should get something that is 5x or 10x in magnification. Thanks

 

[crlovel]

Uhhh...are you going to get a little Frankenstein table to strap your tarantulas down on under the lens, so you can examine it? Or are you dissecting it? Otherwise, I'd suggest a good camera with a macro lens.

 

[mistertim]

Maybe he's just talking about examining the exuviae.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I use an AM Scope trinocular stereo zoom microscope with 7X to 65X magnification along with an variable intensity 64 LED ring light mounted to the objective lens. The magnification I use most often for tarantulas is 7X to 20X. For small araneomorphs, the 64X magnification doesn't cut it because the field of view is far to small and image quality through the ocular lenses degrades too much to make out minute details such as tricobotheria, claws, etc.

 

[mistertim]

https://www.nanosurf.com/en/products/naiostm

 

[viper69]

I went with one of the suggestions I found on the forum, can't remember the brand.

 

[crlovel]

Maybe he's just talking about examining the exuviae.

Could be! But not I'm thinking on the idea of a KBT, strapped down on a little gurney, Frankenstein-style, under a microscope.

 

[Jacobospider5]

I want to look at dead specimens and work with identification keys

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I want to look at dead specimens and work with identification keys

This is exactly what I do and it is best to invest the money in a good stereo microscope with as high a magnification range as you can afford and the lighting for it. It's better to have more than you think you need than find out your lighting or magnification isn't adequate after you went through the trouble of prepping your specimen. I ran into this problem just the other day when I attempted to key to species a male spider I found in my bathroom with a body length of 2 mm.

 

[Trenor]

AM Scope trinocular stereo zoom microscope with 7X to 65X

Sweet baby Jesus, I just looked up the cost of that thing. I'll need to get into the hobby a lot more before that is warranted. Do you have a way to collect images with it? I know some microscopes have video and photo attachments.

 

[viper69]

If one is looking to do work that non-slide based, such as the OPs, then stereomicroscopes are the solution as Apho noted. If you have the money, the global leader in this area is Leica Microsystems.

If you can't afford that, one could get older Leica's under the name of Wild (an acquisition of Leica's). The optics of either are equaled by no other manufacturer when it comes to stereos. In fact they are so good that people don't want to "upgrade" from their Wild or even more modern Leica's.

Nikon and Olympus are OK, but not as good as Leica.

Mind you, I don't know what your price point is, for your uses you may not want a Leica, esp if it's only a hobby. But if you have the money, get a Leica.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

If one is looking to do work that non-slide based, such as the OPs, then stereomicroscopes are the solution as Apho noted. If you have the money, the global leader in this area is Leica Microsystems.

If you can't afford that, one could get older Leica's under the name of Wild (an acquisition of Leica's). The optics of either are equaled by no other manufacturer when it comes to stereos. In fact they are so good that people don't want to "upgrade" from their Wild or even more modern Leica's.

Nikon and Olympus are OK, but not as good as Leica.

Mind you, I don't know what your price point is, for your uses you may not want a Leica, esp if it's only a hobby. But if you have the money, get a Leica.

Microscopes from the major optics manufacturers like Nikon, Olympus, and Leica are professional grade scopes and cost in the thousands if not tens of thousands. The old used Wild M8s are super expensive as well and sometimes don't even have all the necessary parts. Sometimes you can pay upwards of a thousand dollars for just the head of a Wild microscope and still have to buy, ocular lenses, a stand, and stand alone fiber optic lighting. None of those are options for the amateur or even for institutions with low funds.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Sweet baby Jesus, I just looked up the cost of that thing. I'll need to get into the hobby a lot more before that is warranted. Do you have a way to collect images with it? I know some microscopes have video and photo attachments.

The third "tube" in a trinocular microscope is for inserting or attaching a camera to the microscope. Mine being a trinocular has a photo tube but it is highly inadequate for taking pictures with. There is not enough light making it through the photo tube to a camera's image sensor. I get better pictures by holding my iPhone up to one of the eye pieces and taking pictures that way. The images are far from professional quality, but it is very workable, suites my needs, and appear better than some of the pictures produced by biologists with professional microscopes with cheap cameras in taxonomic papers. If you want to see examples of my microscope pictures, you can search for my Aphonopelma armada thread. In that one there are two pictures I took using the method I described.

And yes, a biology hobby can get expensive fast. Getting the microscope is one expense, but if one wants to start a spider reference collection, the costs keep adding up. Once one gets started, one will quickly find out additional supplies are needed.

 

[Trenor]

If you want to see examples of my microscope pictures, you can search for my Aphonopelma armada thread. In that one there are two pictures I took using the method I described.

That was an interesting thread to read. I'll have to read more on this. Thanks.

I recently saw a video at the Field Museum which has a 12 million+ insect collection. They have people come on from all over the world to verify specimens using it.

This is a bit off topic but here is the quick video for anyone interested.

 

[Ran]

I purchased a double lighted loupe off Ama** with 30 and 60 objective lenses for under 4. Works like a portable mini microscope.

 

[viper69]

Microscopes from the major optics manufacturers like Nikon, Olympus, and Leica are professional grade scopes and cost in the thousands if not tens of thousands. The old used Wild M8s are super expensive as well and sometimes don't even have all the necessary parts. Sometimes you can pay upwards of a thousand dollars for just the head of a Wild microscope and still have to buy, ocular lenses, a stand, and stand alone fiber optic lighting. None of those are options for the amateur or even for institutions with low funds.

I like informing people of the best there is having used the equipment myself more times than I can count. Besides, maybe the OP is a billionaire. If I was, I'd own my own turn-key system that goes for about $1 million right now.

I've never come across a single owner of Wild willing to part ways with it. I wouldn't if I owned one either.