Auto-Montage Pro 3D image reconstruction software from Syncroscopy is being used at the Natural History Museum in London to help rapidly characterise a collection of swallowtail butterflies
Researchers in the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum are using Auto-Montage Pro to generate focused images of the genitalia of African and Madagascan swallowtail butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) to help identify the species within this family.
Butterflies are sensitive to environmental changes and act as a good biomarker, which is why it is important to correctly identify and track butterfly species.
Campbell Smith, a Butterfly Taxonomist at the Natural History Museum said: "It is difficult to differentiate many butterflies on wing pattern alone and often the best way to do so is to examine their genital morphology as this varies between species to prevent interspecies crosses occurring.
"Trying to photograph butterfly genitalia is tricky because they are only 2-3mm across and have complex three-dimensional shapes".
"Using a microscope, we used to draw them, but this was very time consuming and it could take up to a week to produce accurate, publishable images".
Smith continued: "This is why we installed Auto-Montage Pro".
"The software overcomes this problem by generating fully focused images that show relevant taxonomic features of butterfly genitalia in minutes.
"This is not only saving hours of work, but is also helping provide easier access to this unique collection of butterflies with the stunning images that we intend to load onto our web site".
Martin Smith, Syncroscopy's Divisional Manager commented: "We are delighted to see Auto-Montage Pro being used by a world-leading institute like the Natural History Museum.
"Their research shows the time saving benefits the software can bring and also endorses its 3D imaging capabilities as many of these Auto-Montage Pro images will be accepted internationally as swallowtail species standards".
