I wanted to see how my recently-aquired Leitz 0.32:1 microscope relay lens (about $300.0 ebay) stacked up against Canon's MPE-65 ($1,000.00). Not having the latter I looked for images of species that I might have so as to get am approximate comparison. AIP's Tachina image at 5x was a species I could...

I have replaced several lenses used for macros, with mostly small working distances, with one lens with a minimun WD of 10.6 cm. With extension I get anywhere between 1x and 5x. The lens is a Leitz Wetzlar Germany 0.32:1 microscope relay lens; sells on ebay for around $300.00. It would be nice to co...

Atlantic Canada still has a good diversity:
HERE

No longer for sale

Title misleading. Not a Crambid.
Snout moths are named for their forward-pointing palps that look like a snout!
The palps on your moth curve backwards over the head as seen in many Twirler Moths Family: Gelechiidae.
Here is a snout moth; long palps, snout, in front of eyes

The traditional system, as seen in most texts, divides the Diptera into 2 suborders: Nematocera and Brachycera. Nematocera means "thread-horns", the flies have long many-segmented antennae. Brachycera means "short-horns", the flies have short antennae. The Family Tipulidae is just one of many famili...

Nice images. as a student of entomology I have to comment. Crane Flies are not a species of mosquitoes. Your fly looks like a 'Large Crane Fly', Family Tipulidae. There are other 'Crane Flies' in other families. Mosquitoes are in the Family Culicidae. A bit like calling a duck a species of chicken! ...

You have a beauty in the UK
Burnished Brass
https://ukmoths.org.uk/species/diachrysia-chrysitis/

a new collection method ?
i.e., collect chironomids and dissect out their guts. I once tried such a technique with mussels (clams) but ended up with a putrid mess.

Day-flying insects may use metallic reflections for sexual recognition. However, several night-flying moths also have such colouring. There is always some light, even at night, so metallic reflections still may 'work', but most moths rely on chemical communication so colouring seems to be more impor...

Appears to be very common (sorry Rik!); 50 or so images on BugGuide.
European, introduced to NA

Looks OK for Drosophila; antenna described as: arista plumose with dorsal and ventral rays, usually more than 2 ventrally.

Drosophila have distinctive antennae, your fly's doesn't match !

One almost universal feature of beetles is that their forewings are hardened elytra that form a protective covering for much of the body; they are of no use for flight. However, one family, the Lycidae, have soft forewings. These beetles are conspicuously coloured red or black and red. The colouring...

One way to hold and orientate a bug for photography is a two-pin method. Bug is stuck to a fine insect pin (the best insect pins have a nylon head, see image. To make this 'headless' simply burn it off with a small flame (match or lighter)). Mount bug on this pin with Bondic. This pin with mounted b...