I have not previously examined my beard stubble. Not sure if cloudy centers are new or not. My beard is more coarse than the hair growing on my head. It tends to be a bit brittle and if I allow it to grow it often frays and splits. I suspect the cloudy cores have been present for a long time. Such e...

lothman recently posted a "selfie" of his beard stubble here http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=44824 In the discussion that followed Rik made the following comment regarding how the sample was gathered... "safety razor" -- that also explains the cleanly cut ends, versus the...

Pau wrote These antennae seems an important aerodynamic handicap... Mosquitoes, midges and other Culicomorpha are slow flyers. Their flight is in a laminar flow regeime and so the antenna drag is relatively small. Their slow flight is good news for bats, dragonflies and other predators that catch th...

Adalbert wrote “ good idea but not in Europe “

True, Condylostylus is a North American genus, however the related genus Sciapus probably has similar habits. It is in Europe and North America now. That being said a chemical treatment for fungus gnat control would be simpler.

Good luck!

K

I raised a long legged fly from an egg in potting soil in my basement. The LLF larva was carnivorous and after it reached a certain size did a dandy job of controlling all the fungus gnat larva that occasionally cohabited in my tiny terrarium. I would have loved to have more fungus gnats as that was...

The “hilly landscape with trees” is a superb image. It is wonderful to zoom in and explore. Thanks for sharing.

Keith

This is an interesting seed. I’m not a botanist but I suspect it is actually several seeds. It brings to mind zinnia seeds which have a spade shaped seed at the bottom that is connected to the dried remnant of the flower petal. When zinnia seeds are dropped the relatively heavy seed end tends to lan...

NikonUser, What adhesive (bug to pin) have you used here? I started out using super glue (Cyanoacrylate or “CA”) then switched to black nail polish as super glue outgassing can leave a haze on the bug or optics. Your adhesive looks nice and clean. My black nail polish occasionally looks messy. Keith...

Rik wrote

Quick search on coleoptera apposition superposition turned up this article, which I found interesting

Wow! Awesome! Many thanks for the article.

Eric Warrant is one of the authors of Visual Ecology which is an interesting read
K

This figure from Nilsson’stext suggests nocturnal beetles may have a rather smooth cornea exterior surface. A feature of a “superposition” eye.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Ap ... _313690273

Keith

Very interesting in this non aquatic beetle. I have seen a similar smooth eye surface in Dobsonfly eyes.I had presumed it was because the eye was designed for hunting under water? Can it be that the ommatidia are open ( transparent) and the cornea forms a camera lens, a bit like nocturnal moth eyes?...

Amazing. Not much space for ocelli.

Keith

What fuzzy eyes! Nicely composed.

Keith

Very nice! Thanks for the excellent sterios!

The textures of the face are rendered very well! I especially like the symmetric swirl patterns near the jaws. Thanks for posting!

Keith