First attempts at 10X, Nikon CFI60 on Canon tele
Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau
First attempts at 10X, Nikon CFI60 on Canon tele
It's pretty nice having images like these filling the sensor now instead of being just low-res detail crops.
100% pixel views available as the flickr Original size.
Dicranocephalus wallichi bourgoini, scarab
Acroncinus longimanus, Harlequin longhorn beetle
Tarsal claw
Antenna joint
What are these setae doing beneath the exoskeleton?
3.5X, MP-E macro
Apologies for the filthy subject matter here, very old specimens.
100% pixel views available as the flickr Original size.
Dicranocephalus wallichi bourgoini, scarab
Acroncinus longimanus, Harlequin longhorn beetle
Tarsal claw
Antenna joint
What are these setae doing beneath the exoskeleton?
3.5X, MP-E macro
Apologies for the filthy subject matter here, very old specimens.
Last edited by papilio on Sat Feb 22, 2014 3:44 am, edited 4 times in total.
- rjlittlefield
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Re: First attempts at 10X, Nikon CFI60 on Canon tele
Fascinating observation!papilio wrote:This beetle must have been ready to molt, most of these setae are beneath the exoskeleton.
That conclusion would be appropriate for a spider, but not for a beetle. Beetles don't molt after they emerge from the pupa.
I have no idea what's really going on, though. Exactly what body part is this? Does it look to you like this might be a bit of pupal skin that the adult was not able to shed?
--Rik
Re: First attempts at 10X, Nikon CFI60 on Canon tele
I didn't think so either Rik!rjlittlefield wrote:Fascinating observation!papilio wrote:This beetle must have been ready to molt, most of these setae are beneath the exoskeleton.
That conclusion would be appropriate for a spider, but not for a beetle. Beetles don't molt after they emerge from the pupa.
--Rik
But just to be sure I too quickly googled the matter and it said yes at each place I checked, so I thought I must be wrong though I'd never seen such a thing. Seeing those hairs really did have me convinced that I'd been mistaken all these years.
I think not, this is a joint on the antenna, folded around the body during pupation. Very strange. (Sorry to have posted too hastily to have noted the ID of the image.)I have no idea what's really going on, though. Exactly what body part is this? Does it look to you like this might be a bit of pupal skin that the adult was not able to shed?
Somebody here must know what we're seeing there, obviously beetles were not my area of interest, more strictly Lepidoptera ... spiders are a very recent excursion.
Beetles do not molt, as Rik said, but I have found that there can be considerable amounts of grease suspended on the surface of the exoskeleton of my pinned specimens. As the "surface" in those pics seems to have no microsculpture, I'm thinking it might be regular body fat that has leached out and settled on the surface of the specimen.
To clean them up, improve the color, and free identifying setae on mine, I put the pinned specimens on a small piece of balsa wood and then suspend that upside down in small metal cans originally intended for car polish or paint, about 2/3rds full of acetone or ethyl acetate. Give it about three days in there (I set mine on the porch as both of these chemicals are health hazards), and change out the solvent as it turns brownish (sometimes this takes several rounds of different specimens). Acetone is easily found at most car parts stores, along with those clean metal cans. Avoid using plastic containers, especially with ethyl acetate, as it will dissolve them, give you at best a distinctly plasticky new coating to your pinned insects, and at worst a potential firebomb.
edit: to clarify, beetles do not molt in the adult stage of life, as a spider, bug, cockroach, or other arthropod with incomplete metamorphosis would. If something on the net is saying beetles molt, I assume that's in reference to the self extrusion they perform to escape their pupal cases.
To clean them up, improve the color, and free identifying setae on mine, I put the pinned specimens on a small piece of balsa wood and then suspend that upside down in small metal cans originally intended for car polish or paint, about 2/3rds full of acetone or ethyl acetate. Give it about three days in there (I set mine on the porch as both of these chemicals are health hazards), and change out the solvent as it turns brownish (sometimes this takes several rounds of different specimens). Acetone is easily found at most car parts stores, along with those clean metal cans. Avoid using plastic containers, especially with ethyl acetate, as it will dissolve them, give you at best a distinctly plasticky new coating to your pinned insects, and at worst a potential firebomb.
edit: to clarify, beetles do not molt in the adult stage of life, as a spider, bug, cockroach, or other arthropod with incomplete metamorphosis would. If something on the net is saying beetles molt, I assume that's in reference to the self extrusion they perform to escape their pupal cases.
Thanks Bathcat! I find that quite remarkable about the appearance being caused by grease leaching out, it certainly would account for the lacquer-like appearance. I've just never seen my insects this close before! The complete lack of microsculpture pretty much clinches it. Interesting look though, quite pretty I thought.
I appreciate especially the cleaning instructions! I've used acetone quite a bit in other work, fascinating that it would clean my specimens up ... something which I've been meaning to inquire about on the forum, so thank you.
I collected insects up through high school, that was my primary passion at the time so I certainly should have known better ... rather than taking the word of Wikianswers which stated simply "Do beetles molt? Yes they do." Good grief, rather embarassing ... I just figured that was another one of those facts about which I'd been wrong all my life. lol
[Edit] Bathcat, do you mean that the specimens should be suspended in the space above the surface of the acetone or submersed? Thanks!
I appreciate especially the cleaning instructions! I've used acetone quite a bit in other work, fascinating that it would clean my specimens up ... something which I've been meaning to inquire about on the forum, so thank you.
I collected insects up through high school, that was my primary passion at the time so I certainly should have known better ... rather than taking the word of Wikianswers which stated simply "Do beetles molt? Yes they do." Good grief, rather embarassing ... I just figured that was another one of those facts about which I'd been wrong all my life. lol
[Edit] Bathcat, do you mean that the specimens should be suspended in the space above the surface of the acetone or submersed? Thanks!
Stick the bugs on the underside of the balsa wood, so they're submerged below the surface of the acetone. I put headless insect pins in the top of the balsa float to easily pull it back out.
And no problem! If I can help a few people with my narrow experience, it's a small trade off for the plethora of questions I've asked and will continue to ask about optics in general
And no problem! If I can help a few people with my narrow experience, it's a small trade off for the plethora of questions I've asked and will continue to ask about optics in general
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Thank you for clarifying where the mis-information came from. I did a Google search on wikianswers do beetles molt and was immediately directed to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_beetles_moult?#slide=1, "Do beetles moult?". Continuing to the next slide, I saw the simple answer "yes it does".papilio wrote:rather than taking the word of Wikianswers which stated simply "Do beetles molt? Yes they do."
Well, context is everything, so I thought I would see where this was going. Perhaps, I hoped, they were going to tell me about larvae.
But instead I was aghast to find this sequence:
I know this is just one sequence of questions and answers, but even so I feel quite safe in concluding that wiki.answers.com is not a reliable source of information.Q: Do beetles moult?
A: yes it does
Q: How many times does a beetle moult?
A: A lot of times on average, depending on the type of beetle
Q: Does mealworm beetle moults and eats a lot at its larval stage?
A: Yes, it eats a lot at the larval stage
Q: What are beetles?
A: Beetles are bugs which have 6 legs, 2 body segments and a wing case if you see a bug which has all of these it means that you have found yourselves a rolypoly which are beetles.
Ironically, but not inappropriately, some sort of information block next to all these "answers" said this:
I will resist further comment, though the effort is painful.Supervisors
Stupid little genius
Trust: 2979
Beetles Supervisor
--Rik
There are at least 2 questions here. The answer depends on which is asked. If I was asked "Do beetles moult" I would answer, "Yes, all insects moult".
If the question was "Do adult beetles, the imagines, moult" the answer would be "No".
Worth remembering that an immature beetle, ie., egg, larva, pupa, is still a beetle; and so to be clear one would have to specify which stage of the insect is being considered.
If the question was "Do adult beetles, the imagines, moult" the answer would be "No".
Worth remembering that an immature beetle, ie., egg, larva, pupa, is still a beetle; and so to be clear one would have to specify which stage of the insect is being considered.
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.
Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives
- rjlittlefield
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I was actually OK with the part about beetles molting, especially if it had been clarified that only the immatures molt.
Where I lost patience with wiki.answers was at "Beetles are bugs which have 6 legs, 2 body segments and a wing case if you see a bug which has all of these it means that you have found yourselves a rolypoly which are beetles."
The odd thing is that these "supervisors" actually seem to have real identities. If you go to the wiki.answers page and click the link for "Google profile", you'll be taken to a page that provides a lot more information.
--Rik
Where I lost patience with wiki.answers was at "Beetles are bugs which have 6 legs, 2 body segments and a wing case if you see a bug which has all of these it means that you have found yourselves a rolypoly which are beetles."
The odd thing is that these "supervisors" actually seem to have real identities. If you go to the wiki.answers page and click the link for "Google profile", you'll be taken to a page that provides a lot more information.
--Rik