Magnificent Seven Layer Bars

Normalize quote-posting your own post because you think more people should see a nice image of a cool insect.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#FocusStacking

Left latero-frontal view of a metallic yellowish-green scarab on a white background. This species, Phanaeus demon, has a large backward curving horn coming off the top of its head. It also has a pair of large, inwardly curving, apically truncate processes extending dorsally from the back of its pronotum. It's pretty badass.

I finished my mini curation project on the tribe Phanaeini in our collection. We have specimens representing five genera and ~40 species.

This is a male of Phanaeus demon, from Nicaragua.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CollectionCorner
#FocusStacking
#Scarabaeidae
#NotAWaspButStillCool

Frontal view of a dark scarab beetle against a dark grey background. The beetle's integument is shiny black, with deep metallic purple color on the sides of the pronotum. The pronotum is expanded at the back corners and there are four additional short, stout spine like protuberances. This male has a large, backwardly curving horn extending from the front of its face.

The last thing you see...if you are a pile of 💩💩.

[Probably, if you are on the ground in s. AZ or Mexico]

I've been curating our Phanaeus dung beetles the past couple of days. This is P. quadridens. Because of its four dens.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CuratorsCorner
#FocusStacking
#Scarabaeidae

Two pictures: the left shows a tray with foam holding a rainbow scarab (Phanaeus difformis), a square image stage with black background, a dome diffuser, a rectangular yellow base piece, and optional white or grey backgrounds for the stage. All the pieces snap together with small neodymium magnets. The image on the right shows the same stuff except the foam tray and specimen. The stage, base piece, and diffuser are all rotated to show the magnets on their undersides. The yellow base piece has a brass bushing so it can be easily attached to a standard 1/4" bolt on a tripod or a copy stand for imaging. Both images have a textured white background.

FYI, here's the specimen & my staging equipment (not incl. the tray with foam).

• can use a white, grey, or black background as needed
• 3D printed diffuser
• stage snaps on yellow base w/magnets
• base has 1/4 20 bushing

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CollectionCorner
#FocusStacking
#3DPrinting

Quarter-profile (-ish) view of a rainbow scarab (Phanaeus difformis) against a black background. The elytra are metallic purplish, the pronotum is metallic greeenish, and the head and horn are black with subtle purplish tints. The back corners of the pronotum are produced into small dorsals extensions, giving it a decidedly three horned appearance. The lamellate antennal clubs are orangish-brown. It is a lovely beetle (as far as beetles go).

Rainbow triceratops*

*scarab. Phanaeus difformis collected in Texas, in 2002.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CollectionCorner
#FocusStacking
#Scarabaeidae
#Coleoptera
#WIRC

Quarter-profile (-ish) view of a rainbow scarab (Phanaeus difformis) against a black background. The elytra are metallic purplish, the pronotum is metallic greeenish, and the head and horn are black with subtle purplish tints. The back corners of the pronotum are produced into small dorsals extensions, giving it a decidedly three horned appearance. The lamellate antennal clubs are orangish-brown. It is a lovely beetle (as far as beetles go).

Rainbow triceratops*

*scarab. Phanaeus difformis collected in Texas, in 2002.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CollectionCorner
#FocusStacking
#Scarabaeidae
#Coleoptera
#WIRC

Image of a 3D printed curation kit card, printed in red filament and sitting on a textured white background. The kit includes a larval forceps, pinning block, and the parts to assemble a box to hold insect pins and a specimen manipulator, to hold and maneuver a specimen on a microscope stage.

Whelp, Everything is Fine™️ in the world...

...but at least I was able to successfully print this model. It just needs a few tweaks to the sprues and it's done.

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#CurationCorner
#CurationForKids
#3DPrinting

The description is in the alt text and the STL file isn't be shared anywhere at the moment.

✅
✅
✅
✅

Image is of a 3D file rendering, showing several pieces of curation equipment laid out as a kit card. The kit includes larval forceps, a box to hold #2 pins, a pinning block, and a insect manipulator. The box pieces are deep blue, the block is yellow, the knobs of the manipulator are metallic red. The remaining manipulator pieces, the kit card frame, and the sprues are light grey.

I've been working on something. 🙂

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#3DPrinting
#CurationCorner

Movie poster style image showing actors Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet as their characters in Dune against a huge orange sun. Text, in the Dune style, is in the center of the image and says BENTHICNET, THERE ARE NO AQUATIC INSECTS HERE...YET.

Good point!

I fixed it. 😀

Movie poster style image showing actors Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet as their characters in Dune against a huge orange sun. Text, in the Dune style, is in the center of the image and says BENTHICNET, THERE ARE NO AQUATIC INSECTS HERE.

Our current aquatic insect project was on my mind when I saw a link to a site for generating Dune font text and, well...

Photo of my studio featuring a Zeiss micro-stereoscope basis for binoculars

When you're a nerd about both birds and insects
#birds #insects

As a huge fan of the @jessicalwarelab.bsky.social AND of @asavage.bsky.social AND @tested.com AND as a taxonomist AND as the curator of an insect collection...to say I immensely enjoyed this video would be an understatement.

🐉🪰 🤓

#NaturalHistoryCollections
#Taxonomy
@entcollnet.bsky.social

Reposting this for no particular reason.

All the non-hymenopterans really wanna be hymenopterans...

😀

#MimicryFTW
#HymenopteraRule

Image of the front of a package of HP Professional Business paper.

Here's what we are using. The only difference I can see is this one is labeled as glossy finish instead of matte. In hand, it's more of a semi-gloss...there's a slight sheen but it's not super shiny.

I think the finish is the key reason laser toner bonds to it so well.

I use it for points too.

Also, as standard practice I'll print a throwaway copy on cheap copy paper before printing on the good stuff, to warm up the printer if it's been idle for a while.

Not empirically. In a scratch test, the toner comes off much less easily from the hp paper than from heavy card stock. I've been using it for pinned stuff and in alcohol vials for the past few years. I haven't seen any issues on EtOH labels that are a few years old.

You can find stl files for a specimen manipulator here: github.com/western-ento...

(I printed several of these, but then decided to re-create the manipulator myself in CAD because I wanted to make a few changes. My stl files are not currently available online, however.)

...by Matt Buffington & Mike Gates. They tested a variety of archival papers and the hp paper was the winner. Laser toner bonds MUCH better on it than on card stock, and the paper is somewhat "grippy" on pins—I've used the same pinhole for re-attaching labels with no spin. acid- & lignin-free
2/2

We are using HP Color Laserjet Pro printers, currently the 454dw. I think it has been replaced by a newer model, but I original chose it because it can handle heavy (52lb/200 g/m^2) label paper. However, paper choice is key—hp professional business paper was suggested during an ECN meeting...
1/2

Close up view of a 3D-printed insect specimen manipulator on a white background. The manipulator is all black except the two rotating knobs and the foam filled socket for holding the insect are yellow. There is a pinned queen of the rusty patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis in stuck in the foam.

I decided to print a dedicated tool for holding bees while viewing through a microscope.

A bee-spoke manipulator, if you will...

#3DprintingFTW
#NaturalHistoryCollections
#MakeItYourself

museums are cool because the people who work there are like look at this neat thing and you're like wow that is neat and you just do it over and over again until it is time to go

Image of the back of a light blue t-shirt. There is a large circular logo, with a black stag beetle on a yellow background. The text says BEAUTY IS ONLY EXOSKELETON-DEEP

Yup, my partner gets me.

#BestBirthdayPresent

Awesome! Many thanks Torsten. 🪰 👀 💜

Reposting and pinging @tdikow.bsky.social ...

...any chance you can point me in the right direction for an ID? 😬 😀

Right quarter profile view of a small, pinned robber fly (Asilidae) on a white background. The body is black with thick pale yellow setae on the face, thorax, and forming apical bands on the abdominal segments. The legs are very bristly and are mostly orange. The large eyes are dark with a faint purplish tinge.

Perfect. Predaceous. Puppy.

Bycatch* collected this summer in Arizona.

(*bycatch because it was caught during Bee Course and bees were the primary target, I guess)

#Asilidae
#FlyFriday
#FlydayFriday
#FocusStacking
#NaturalHistoryCollections

Even the lowly aspirator (or for those who prefer, pooter) hasn't escaped my attention!

Along with the 3D printed top, there's an attachment for the business end and a mouthpiece to make it easier to hold in one's mouth while in use.

#CuratorsCorner
#3DPrinting
#NaturalHistoryCollections