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Mayfly Movie.MOVNesemeletus - Swimming Mayfly
Nesemeletus - Swimming Mayfly
Mayfly larvae are one of the most “sensitive” of our freshwater invertebrates – if their habitat becomes polluted or altered in any way they are the first ones to die. So having mayflies present indicates stellar stream health.
Following on from successful 3D print plans in the Fish Futures project, Cawthron aims to create 3D prints of a range of benthic macro invertebrates. We decided to start with the Nesemeletus due to its intricate body features - if we could get this species accurately photographed and printed, others would be easier.
Below is the process...
1.Without a SHMAK kit, assemble your own!
2.Ensure all items are on a stable surface.
3. Use the kick net to gather bugs
4. Empty the net into a white tray
Seperate out the mayflies into the ice tray using a paintbrush
Dilute the Aqui-S solution 1:10
Ensure the sticky Aqui-S is fully mixed into the stock solution.
Add the diluted Aqui-S to the cells of the ice tray.
The mayfly is calmed, sedated and dies in the anesthetic.
Transfer the specimens into the ethanol jar
Revising the anesthetising method
Revising the anesthetising method
The first speciments I collected were anethesised with aqui-S. While they initially looked good when I transferred them to the ethanol, they later curled their legs up.
Kati and I returned to the Brook Waimārama stream together to collect more bugs. With this group, we used simple tonic water. This worked in a similar way and the bugs were slightly less curled.
For the third group, we trialled freezing them in individual ice cubes.
Capturing the images
Capturing the images
Cawthron photographer Bruce Green devised a purpose built 'studio' to capture the initial images of the 'toe-biter' dubbed 'Bob'.
Carefully checking that he had a sharp focus on the closest point, he then took 100 images with an incresing depth of field - so focusing form the nearest point to the furtherest. This series of images will later be stacked to produce one image where all of Bob's features are in sharp focus.
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