Four Eyed Beetle

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

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svalley
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:07 pm
Location: Albany, Oregon

Four Eyed Beetle

Post by svalley »

Image

Another Bark Beetle, Trypodendron rufitarsis (Kirby). There is nothing spectacular about this shot. I just thought it was interesting that the eyes have completely separated. Many of the Scolytids, as well as other beetle families, have an invagination on the eye, but most have not completely separated

Leica MZ16 stereomicroscope w/extended depth of field imaging system
"You can't build a time machine without weird optics"
Steve Valley - Albany, Oregon

beetleman
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Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 4:19 am
Location: Southern New Hampshire USA

Post by beetleman »

Any ideas on why the eyes are separated? He is very clean, Charles does a super job of cleaning is subjects up also. Very nice scientific shot. :wink:
Take Nothing but Pictures--Leave Nothing but Footprints.
Doug Breda

svalley
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:07 pm
Location: Albany, Oregon

Post by svalley »

Doug, I do not have a clue. It is close to where the base of the antennae are attached. It may be one of those changes in morphology that occur that through genetic drift, but that do not affect survival one way or the other.Th majority of their life is spent in the dark burrowing in wood. They are attracted to pheromones, so eyesight is probably not a major factor in their life.
"You can't build a time machine without weird optics"
Steve Valley - Albany, Oregon

Ken Ramos
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Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

Doug said:
Charles does a super job of cleaning is subjects up also.
Yeah, Charlie even gets behind their ears. :lol: That is a super shot there Steve, looks as though he is floating in air. Interesting bits of info you are providing us with too, I know nothing about bugs! To me a bug is a bug, unless its a SPIDER! :shock: :D

svalley
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:07 pm
Location: Albany, Oregon

Post by svalley »

Ken, The other entomologists I work with have learned to keep spiders away from me. They give me the willies!

for the record, almost all the specimens I shoot are pinned or pointed, which I edit out using photoshop. I also always shoot against a neutral gray background. Most of my images are for publication, so if the press operator knows that the background is neutral, he can print the image without a colorcast. Another reason for a neutral bkg is that colored bkgs can change how our brain interprets the color of the specimen.
"You can't build a time machine without weird optics"
Steve Valley - Albany, Oregon

Charles Krebs
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Location: Issaquah, WA USA
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Ken...
Yeah, Charlie even gets behind their ears.
Probably comes from raising 5 kids! But don't forget most of my subjects have been flying critters that seen to spent a good part of their life grooming themselves, as opposed to beetles that are always rummaging around in messy stuff. You're a military guy... sort of like the difference between a jet fighter and a tank.

Steve... these are really great to see! Do most of your specimens come to you "fresh" or do you need to work with older dried specimens?

svalley
Posts: 343
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:07 pm
Location: Albany, Oregon

Post by svalley »

Charles, most specimens are pretty old. I do get some fresh ones fairly often from a multi-state, multi-agency program called Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR). Those images are used for pest alerts and also may be sent to experts on that particular group of insects to confirm identification. All our entomologists are starting to be aware how much easier it is to clean specimens before they are mounted with the idea that they may be used as photo subjects in the future.
"You can't build a time machine without weird optics"
Steve Valley - Albany, Oregon

crocoite
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 3:38 am

Post by crocoite »

beetleman wrote:Charles does a super job of cleaning is subjects up also. Very nice scientific shot. :wink:
Charles - did you ever post anything about cleaning specimens?

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