Eye-Opening Optics

The power of backyard nature, magnified

- MONICA CARDOZA

If you find yourself looking for the butterflies, bees and dragonflies visiting your flowers and your water features, you're not alone. "You can see interest in pollinators growing exponentially," says Jaret Daniels, a professor specializing in Lepidoptera research and insect conservation at the University of Florida, Gainesville. "Once people start looking a little closer, a whole new world opens up."

To bring that world into sharper focus, consider the following close-focus optics.

In the Loupe 
Used by entomologists, horticulturalists and backyard naturalists alike, a hand lens, or loupe, is a smaller, more powerful version of a magnifying glass. "We have community science projects where people use them to collect data," Jaret says.