Arthropods (arthropods, e.g. insects, arachnids, crabs) are encountered by us every day. We are either disgusted or delighted by these animals. In the scanning electron microscope the animals are shown only in black and white, but a new world of shapes and structures opens up to the viewer!The preparation ranges from simple dry preparations of found dead animals to wet chemical fixation (osmium tetroxide/tannin), dehydration via acetone series with subsequent critical point drying. After mounting, animals were sputtered with gold. We examined the animals in SEM with secondary electron detector or in case of strong charging phenomena with backscatter electron detector.

_{Copyright: All graphics are the property of ZAL and may not be republished without permission.Literature:Eisenbeis, G. and W. Wichard (1985): Atlas zur Biologie der Bodenarthropoden.Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart.}