Scorpion under UV light

[tribal-warrior]

This is my first attempt at photographing a scorpion under UV light. For those not in the know, scorpions fluoresce under UV light.The scorpion pictured here is a Urodacus manicatus which is one of the most common species found throughout Australia.

Photographed with a Panasonic G2 and Canon FD 50mm f3.5 macro lens.

 

[kds315]

Very nicely done! Did you use a sharp UV cut filter in front of the camera for that?

 

[thrice]

I think, based on the purple in the background, that he used a blacklight to get it to fluoresce in the visible spectrum.

 

[tribal-warrior]

I think, based on the purple in the background, that he used a blacklight to get it to fluoresce in the visible spectrum.

Exactly right. I held a UV / black light flashlight directly above the scorpion in the first pic and to the side of the scorpion in the second pic. This rather compact black light was not particularly bright so exposure times were long. Exposure for the first pic was about 23 seconds. I'm glad that the subject stayed still for so long and didn't wander off. Though that's a nice thing about arachnids - they tend to stay still for long periods of time!

 

[kit laughlin]

Until they strike!

Nice image, T-W.