Spider Surprises!

Applause IconAug 08, 2025 • 1:58 PM UTC
Location IconUnited States
Applause Icon50x Magnification
Applause IconInsects and Arachnids
Holly Stuart (Foldscope Team)

Education Specialist at Foldscope Instruments

111posts
1083comments
7locations
I caught this guy crawling out of some flowers that I brought into my lab, so I put it in my Foldscope 2.0! Even though on the macroscopic scale it looked like a tiny plain white spider, it actually had a really cool pattern on its abdomen. These images were captured with the 50X magnification lens using brightfield and darkfield lighting.
When I zoomed in with my phone, I was able to get the top row of eyes to come into focus. This was 50X magnification plus 5X digital zoom with brightfield lighting.
But the best part was when I put my attention on the abdomen - I captured video showing the pulsing of the beating heart! This video was with the 50X magnification lens and 3X digital zoom on my phone.
These are the types of surprises that I really enjoy. I started off thinking I was going to be studying pollen grains, but I got to veer off into the world of arachnids! I hope your Foldscope adventures are full of these wonderful surprises, too!

Sign in to commentNobody has commented yet... Share your thoughts with the author and start the discussion!

More Posts from Holly Stuart (Foldscope Team)