This is the bee's knees! (really)

Post your images made through a compound microscope or made with a stereo/dissecting microscope in this gallery. Images may be of any subject natural or unnatural, living or non-living.

Moderators: MacroMike, nzmacro, Ken Ramos, twebster, S. Alden

Locked
Charles Krebs
Posts: 1200
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:50 am
Location: Issaquah, WA USA

This is the bee's knees! (really)

Post by Charles Krebs »

Image

Don't have a clue where the old "bee's knees" expression came from, but this picture illustrates a real one.

The specialization of insect legs is a great subject for photomicrography. Like the water boatman, the honeybee's legs are highly specialized. Here you can see the pollen combs which collect pollen from the middle legs and abdomen. The stiff bristles ("pecten" or "rake") at the bottom of the tibia collects the pollen from the pollen combs on the opposite side of the body. The pollen is collected into the space above the "anvil-like" auricle. When the bee bends it's leg back and forth (during flight) the pollen is crushed in this "pollen press" and packed into the pollen basket (located on the opposite side of the tibia from this view).

Nikon 3X (large photo), 2.5X photoeyepiece. Canon 10D. Fiber optic illumination.

Wim van Egmond
Posts: 440
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:17 am
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Contact:

Post by Wim van Egmond »

Wonderful! With a couple of extra such shots of the bee you can make a modern school plate! Apart from its artistic values this is great educational material!

Wim

User avatar
Frez
Posts: 419
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 12:33 pm
Location: New Hampshire USA
Contact:

Post by Frez »

Outstanding Charlie! I can't wait to see you image a spider. My first magnified spider made me shiver. BTW, what was the expression Bee's Knees used in context with? I've never heard it.

Thanks!
Frez

User avatar
nephiliim
Posts: 546
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:38 am
Contact:

Post by nephiliim »

This is some great educational stuff charles, just like Wim said.
In my school we put some samples of forest soil under a microscope, most of the girls ran away screeming when they saw the huge mandibles of a beetle :lol: But we only have normal lighting for the microscopes at our school. So you lose a lot of detail, in color anyway.

I have permission to use our school microscopes for private purpose in my spare time. Maybe I can even borrow our schools camera, also an olympus, an take some shots.
Sometimes smaller is better!
*nodge nodge :D*

Comments and advice always welcome
My little website

Charles Krebs
Posts: 1200
Joined: Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:50 am
Location: Issaquah, WA USA

Post by Charles Krebs »

Frez... "bee's knees" was used to refer to something exception, or "really cool". I think it dates back to the 1920's when there apparently were quite a few non-sensical expressions in the common lingo.

nephiliim.... careful, it can be addicting :wink:

User avatar
piotr
Posts: 445
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2004 8:44 am
Location: San Diego
Contact:

Post by piotr »

It is "bee's knees" then, really (I found an explanation here). Spectacular picture!!!
Piotr

Locked