St. Nicholas/Volume 40/Number 4/Nature and Science/Tiny Insects

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
3989950St. Nicholas, Volume 40, Number 4, Nature and Science for Young Folks — Tiny insects most beautifulJ. G. Sanders

TINY INSECTS MOST BEAUTIFUL

If our natural eyes had the power to greatly magnify the tiny creatures about us without the aid
EUROPEAN PLUME-MOTH (ORNEODES HEXADACTYLA).
of microscopes, a new and entrancing world would open to our vision. Brilliant colors, exquisite delicacy, and wonderful forms are revealed when some of our very small insects are magnified. They call forth expressions of delight and amazement from every one whose attention is directed to them.

Methods of photographing these tiny forms many times their original size are now practised, and there are many treats in store for those young
PLUME-MOTH (ORNEODES PENTADACTYLA).
naturalists who wish to engage in this most interesting pastime.

By using special photographic lenses, beautifully accurate enlargements, many times the size of the original, can be obtained.

The accompanying pictures of some tiny plume-moths, one of them like an exquisite fairy fan, reveal what beauty may be seen in insects slightly more than half an inch in the spread of their wings.

J. G. Sanders.