3D model, based on confocal laser scanning microscopy data, of the underside of a planthopper parasite moth caterpillar (family Epipyropidae). The head is at right, with the three pairs of true legs to the left. This caterpillar is parasitic on planthopper insects. Confocal laser scanning microscopy is an imaging technique that focuses a laser beam on or inside a sample, and produces an image from only the point in focus. The focal point can be scanned over the subject, allowing images of very thin layers of an object to be obtained, which can be combined in a computer to form a detailed 3D image.