Jelly Brain
Cecropia Cocoon
It's cocoon spinning time for the cecropia moths I'm rearing.
Freshly spun silk emits a pretty strong fluorescence under UV lights, and seems to fade as time goes on. This silk is just about as fresh as it gets with the central cocoon spun earlier in the day and 3 more caterpillars actively working on cocoons of their own.
UV highlights every one of the fine silk strands, revealing what a complicated mess they make. I'm not sure if there's a plan to the supporting pieces, or if they just have a blast laying it all down.
Technical notes:
-Lit with 2 UV flashlights with filters to reduce any visible light they emit.
-Unmodified camera is capturing the visible light emitted when the silk (and caterpillar knobs) are hit with UV - this is what your eyes would see.
-This is 3 exposures with the lights aimed to highlight different areas, then combined in Photoshop.
Cecropia Cocoon
It's cocoon spinning time for the cecropia moths I'm rearing.
Freshly spun silk emits a pretty strong fluorescence under UV lights, and seems to fade as time goes on. This silk is just about as fresh as it gets with the central cocoon spun earlier in the day and 3 more caterpillars actively working on cocoons of their own.
UV highlights every one of the fine silk strands, revealing what a complicated mess they make. I'm not sure if there's a plan to the supporting pieces, or if they just have a blast laying it all down.
Technical notes:
-Lit with 2 UV flashlights with filters to reduce any visible light they emit.
-Unmodified camera is capturing the visible light emitted when the silk (and caterpillar knobs) are hit with UV - this is what your eyes would see.
-This is 3 exposures with the lights aimed to highlight different areas, then combined in Photoshop.