If you ever looked at a butterfly wing, spider, or ant through the lens of your high school's dissecting microscope, it was likely fuzzy, with only a tiny section in focus at any one time.
For entomologists working in our border laboratories, this old technology made identifying tiny pest species difficult. Thanks to funding from the Modern Technologies and Diagnostic Tools (MTDT) reform program, diagnostic staff across our laboratory network now have super high-resolution cameras, lenses and other equipment that enables the capture of detailed, true-colour images of even the tiniest insects.
Adam Broadley, Principal Entomologist at the Melbourne lab, explained that imaging technology has accelerated in the past few years.
"We used to just take photos down the microscope eyepiece with a basic point-and-shoot camera. The insects were often out of focus, and poorly lit."
"But our new high-quality digital SLR camera is mounted on a focusing rail that we can control using a computer. We move the camera tiny distances while taking lots of photos."
The scientists then use software to create a montage of all the photos to produce one extremely high-resolution image.
"This gives the specimens incredible depth appeal from top to bottom - there's nothing out of focus," said Adam.
The new imaging capabilities improve Australia's biosecurity efforts by enabling scientists to identify potential pests faster and more accurately.
The technology can also be combined with DNA sequencing and protein profiling data to upgrade the department's reference collection databases. This means more tools in our toolbox to ensure a secure border, and faster clearance of imported goods.
The technology is also being used to upgrade images on the national Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL), which contains high-quality images that diagnosticians in DAFF and other organisations nationally and internationally use to identify pests and diseases threatening biosecurity.
