Aug 15
Got a Sarracenia “Yellow Jacket” earlier from petflytrap.com. To quote their info:
This hybrid is the result of a multi-generational cross between a Sarracenia flava (Yellow Pitcher Plant) from North Carolina, a S. purpurea subspecies purpurea (Northern Purple Pitcher Plant), and a Sarracenia rosea (southern species that used to be considered a Purple Pitcher Plant).
I thought it would be a nice contrast to the giant pitcher plants. (I had hoped to get S. Purpurea, but it was out of stock. This is a close relative.) I also wanted a purpurea relative because it’s commensal community is well studied. There is a fair amount of published literature on it on the web. I also wanted a smaller pitcher because I wanted to film the blobs underwater. True, the pencam is waterproof, but only up to the focus dial at the top. Nearly all of my pitchers are taller than the pencam is long. I almost drowned the pencam in a flooded S. Judith Hindle. This little pitcher is too small to drown the pencam.
The small pitchers are just small enough to use the pencam stand. The stand is very handy. Most of my pitchers are considerably longer than the pencam. The Yellow Jacket is half the size of the pencam. The stand will hopefully stop video shaking when I freehand it.
Filming underwater presents a number of challenges, aside from drowning the pencam. The first is that I don’t want to interact with what I am filming. I don’t want to bump into anything and scare it off. I can usually get close to the water’s edge and film what’s happening. (Though that can get you glare off the water’s surface.) Also, you can really stir things up with the pencam if you’re not careful. (Or you can crunch a millipede, as I did in this example)
Another problem filming underwater that it is harder to focus. The blobs are much blobbier when filmed underwater. I think that this is due to the air gap on the pencam. The lens of the pencam is recessed slightly inside the pencam tube. It may only be a couple of millimeters, but it can be a problem. Light travels at different speeds through different media and that can affect the pencam’s focus. Ideally, the gap fills water, but it can be partially filled with air. So the air gap can add some variability to the media just above the lens. It can also add a bit of glare, as well. (Perhaps a cap over the lense might prevent the air gap. Maybe the pencam came with one and I’ve misplaced it.)
This video inside the S. Yellow Jacket shows the problems of filming underwater or merely shows my lack of skill filming underwater. I chose the pitcher with a couple of millipedes in it. It didn’t capture them. Millipedes wander into my place and die all the time so I threw a couple into this pitcher.
The video shows a number of blobs (mites) roaming around the bodies of ants and millipedes. Most of the video is filmed with the pencam just above the water’s surface. At around 3 minutes, I took the pencam underwater. It is hard to get as sharp focus as normal. The blobs are extra blobby when filmed underwater. And the blobs blend in on the millipede’s body. I eventually got a decent focus on an ant on the millipede and waited for something to wander by. It didn’t take long for a blob to arrive (around 4:30). It gets a little shaky as I try to focus on a moving object.
At around 6 minutes, I tried to get the pencam closer and then everything went wrong. I lost focus. I pulled the pencam back and I realize that I lost focus because I bottomed out the pencam. Then I realized that I broke the millipede body with the pencam. Oops. The rest of the video is above water.
Before
After hit by the pencam
Still, I got decent video of a blob on an ant at around 4:30.
Note the image is a little out of focus, but consider this was filmed underwater, and not just any water but water filled with tons of microbes and countless insect remains.
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