Your microscope
What you see under the microscope · Stereo microscope
A butterfly wing under a stereo microscope
A piece of wing on the stage. The “dust” left on your fingers when you touch a butterfly is its scales: with the stereo microscope you can see them without any preparation.
Choose the model and the light in the panel.
10×: the wing pattern
At low magnification you see the colour pattern and the veins of the wing.
20×: the colour is made of dots
The colour is no longer continuous: each dot is a scale. Where the wing has been rubbed, scales are missing and you can see the membrane.
40×: scales in rows, like roof tiles
The scales overlap in rows, like the tiles on a roof. Where they are missing, you can see the small sockets they fitted into.
A scale, up close
Each scale is flat and between 30 and 80 µm wide, with parallel ridges running along its length and a straight tip or one with two to four points. The colour can come from a pigment or from the structure of the scale itself.
3D view: with the stereo microscope you see it in relief, but from above.
Which stereo microscope do you need?
For wings, insects, plants or minerals, 10× to 40× is the usual range. With incident light you see the colours; with transmitted light, the outline of the scales.
Which microscope do I need?Frequently asked questions
What is the dust on butterfly wings?
It is scales: flat plates between 30 and 80 µm wide that cover the wing in overlapping rows.
What magnification do you need to see a butterfly's scales?
At 20× you can already make them out as dots of colour; at 40×, their arrangement in rows, like roof tiles.
Does the wing need to be prepared?
No. With the stereo microscope you look at the piece of wing just as it is, with incident light, transmitted light or both.
How this simulation is made
It is not a photograph: it is a calculated model. Magnification, field of view and resolution come from each microscope's spec sheet; the sample measurements come from the sources cited below.
| What | How it is calculated | What is approximate |
|---|---|---|
| Magnification and field of view | Magnification = eyepiece × zoom (or objective). Field of view = eyepiece field number ÷ zoom magnification. | Exact according to the spec sheet. |
| Scales | Flat scales of 30–80 × 30–500 µm (here ≈ 55 × 100 µm), with ridges along their length, a tip with several points, in overlapping rows, and sockets where they are missing. | Ridge spacing without a source: chosen. |
| Colour pattern | Orange background, dark band and white spots. | Inspired by a butterfly, not copied from a particular species. |
| Light | Incident, transmitted or both, according to each instrument's spec sheet. | Intensities chosen by eye. |
Sources
- Spec sheets of the Letscopes stereo microscopes.
- Scales: McCrone (Modern Microscopy).
- Rows like roof tiles: MIT News, 2024.
Other samples
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