Micro Voyages

Going back to my (blog) roots

2012-02-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

Micro Voyages started as a place to share pictures and stories from my adventures with a compound microscope. Eventually, I found that I wanted to be able to photograph things on the fly, especially things that DID fly and crawl, which is how the insect macrophotography really got started.

Phidippus audax munching a Harvestman. The first arachnid photo I was really proud of.

I'm excited to report that I'll be doing more photomicrography in the near future. I just purchased a Nikon 10x objective lens, and some converter equipment so I can use my current camera body (Canon t2i) with the unique qualities of a compound microscope objective lens. One of the things I most love about photography of insects and arachnids is the detail that is revealed by magnification. Bringing photomicrography back will allow me to get a view of spiders that I just haven't been able to with my macro lens. More spiders, more close-ups.

This doesn't mean my macrophotography days are over (I know, you were worried there for a second). What this does mean is that I'll spend more time stacking photos than actually taking photos. This is a trade-off that becomes worthwhile when you get exciting results:

An unidentified fungus under a microscope and camera. One of the first through-the-microscope photographs I stacked.

Bugshot 2012 is coming!

2012-01-31T20:03:00.000-08:00

Bugshot 2012 was just announced over at Myrmecos.net, and I could not be more excited for this year's arthropod photography get together. It is officially a workshop, but by the time you've spent a weekend geeking out with other entomology and photography people, it can feel more like a get together of old friends. And with the workshop in its second year, old friends made at Bugshot is becoming a real possibility!

Check out Alex Wild's new Bugshot website for the latest updates

The workshop is taking place from August 24th-26th at Archbold Biological Station in Florida. I have never been to Archbold Station, but after first reading about it in Thomas Eisner's For Love of Insects, I've always wanted to visit. The three days consist of talks by professional photographers, artists and entomologists, with plenty of trips out into the Florida wild for photo-shooting sessions. If you have even the slightest interest in photography or insects and arachnids, I encourage you to make it out this year. If you're not convinced, check out the flickr group from last year.

Spider Web Links #3

2012-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

A solid line-up of web links today. Everything from live spider birth to a cape made out of millions of spider silk threads. Can life get any better?:

See a cape woven out of millions of strands of Nephila madagascariensis spider silk! Watch the researchers handle the thread - it just looks like it feels amazing.

A really great audio interview with Leslie Brunetta, co-author of Spider Silk. She dishes on how to write evolution for the masses.

How red or green light can mean catching a meal or going hungry for jumping spiders, and what this means about their vision.

A really gorgeous video (so rare, but so welcome in the macro world) of a Pholcid mother giving birth to her egg-sac. Really. Cool.

I've always liked puppets. This giant spider puppet is a dream come true (and most people's worst nightmare)

And the business end of a Thomisid, just because you're special:

A Mecaphasa species crab spider from Northern California

The Venomless Spider

2012-01-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

I have posted on the Uloborids recently, but after digging around in the scholarly journals, I have found that there is, without surprise, far more to these spiders losing their venom glands than I previously thought. The Uloborids are the only spider family known to science that have lost their cheliceral venom glands, and their story, as it is so far understood, is worth telling.

The chelicerae are a pair of "jaws" that, for most spiders, end in hollow fangs. Here's a picture of the chelicerae and the fangs of a Hygropodes dolomedes (not a Uloborid) spider:

Photo Credit: Alex Wild Photography. See original, unmodified version here

The fang, itself, is hollow, and is connected via ducts to a venom gland. When biting down onto prey, venom is released from the gland, and a controlled amount of venom reaches the prey via the fang opening.

Photo Credit: Rainer F. Foelix's Biology of Spiders (Second Edition), pg. 15

In order to compensate for the loss of venom, Uloborids wrap their prey excessively. In one study, a Uloborid spider was observed to wrap a prey 28,000 times, totaling a little more than 420 ft. of silk. By comparison, other orb-weaving, prey-wrapping spiders wrapped their prey orders of magnitude less. But the excessive wrapping is just part of the answer. The amount of pressure applied to the prey by this excessive wrapping tends to "break the prey’s legs, buckle its compound eyes inward, or kill it outright", according to a 2006 study done by Smithsonian researchers. With this kind of damage being done to prey while wrapping, venom used for subduing may no longer be necessary.

There is another strange aspect to this spider's behavior. All spiders digest before they ingest. Rather than consuming their food and letting digestive juices break down their meal into smaller, usable nutrients, spiders spit up their digestive fluid onto their prey, liquifying the prey, then consume the gooey mess. Pretty cool. What's strange about the Uloborids is that they will wet the entire surface of their prey before ingesting. Other prey-wrapping spiders only wet the spot directly in front of their mouthparts, conserving the precious digestive fluid. These may sound like trivial modifications to the usual orb-weaving spider, but they are evidence of evolution at work.

A Uloborus species spider digesting its prey after wrapping it in layers of silk. Notice how the entire prey surface is reflective from being covered in digestive juices.

References

Eberhard W.G., Barrantes, G., Weng, J.L. (2006) Tie them up tight: wrapping by Philoponella vicina spiders breaks, compresses and sometimes kills their prey. Naturwissenschaften 93: 251-254

Weng, J.L., Barrantes, G., Eberhard, W.G. (2006) Feeding by Philoponella vicina (Araneae, Uloboridae) and how uloborid spiders lost their venom glands. Canadian Journal of Zoology 84: 1752-1762

Answers from an Arachnologist: Rod Crawford

2012-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to inject this blog with some actual expertise, I decided to conduct a short, but worthwhile interview with Arachnologist Rod Crawford from the University of Washington. Rod is the Curatorial Associate of Arachnids at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, and is an expert in spider fauna of the northwest United States. He was kind enough to answer my questions, and he deserves double thanks for being my guinea pig when it comes to conducting email interviews. Here is the short Q&A in all of its glory:

1. You have been oncollecting trips around the world. Do you find that arachnophobia is aworld-wide phenomenon?

Unquestionably there is some of it around theworld. I have the impression that it is more widespread in English-speakingcountries (US, Canada, UK, Australia etc) than elsewhere. It's certainly not aspronounced (though it exists) in Russia, the only non-English speaking countryI've done any collecting in. Spider fear is not innate but is learned. Americankids learn it from other kids (especially), parents, teachers and Hollywood. Nodoubt there are countries where this universal indoctrination is not soentrenched in the culture.

2. Your Spider Collector’s Journal chronicles over two decades of collectingadventures. Is there a favorite entry of yours that readers might find particularly interesting?

How about the Sakhalin Island account http://crawford.tardigrade.net/journal/Journal12.htmlThe triumph of one man determined to do science over Russian bureaucracy!

3. On your Spider Myths webpage, you address the myth that a vague photographof a spider can confirm the species of another spider, just by comparison. What do you think about popular websites like bugguide.net thatidentify spiders down to the genus and species level with no more than a dorsal view? Does the problem ofmisidentification outweigh the benefits of getting people to recognize spiders and their various features?

Well, bugguide is actually the shining exampleof how to do it right. I've identified many of those spiders myself. LynetteSchimming collects the specimen after photographing it and has me look at itunder the scope, if there's any doubt. I also have access to original photosmuch bigger and more detailed than what appears on the site. And in anincreasing number of cases, genitalia photos are being included. The spiderspositively ID's from dorsal views only are generally the few that have somereally obvious feature, provided you know WHERE the spider is from - somethingthey always include. And the project aims to add comparison photos of more andmore species, so that eventually someone will be able to see not just onespecies but most or all the species of a genus, and actually get some realnotion of the magnitude of the task of spider ID.

On the other hand there are spider photo sites where most or all of the photosare MIS-identified. And the people who run such sites typically ignorecorrections. What I was mainly talking about in Spider Myths is people who areworried they have a brown recluse or a hobo spider (practically the same thing,according to the clueless) so they look up a picture of one or the other (whichmay be correctly identified or maybe not) and OF COURSE the spider from theirbasement looks exactly like it - no matter what it really is!

4. What is arachnology’s biggest challenge in the coming decade?

Maintaining a supply of working taxonomists, toa) continue documenting spider biodiversity, still 9/10 undescribed, and b)correctly identify the spiders used in everybody else's research! This, in theface of the steadily diminishing supply of jobs for non-molecular biologists...

Be sure to visit Rod Crawford's website on Spider Myths, as well as his chronicled adventures of spider collecting around the globe. Also, for interested arachnophiles in the northwest, Rod has an annotated checklist of the Spiders of Washington. Stay tuned for more interviews with people who study spiders (and get paid!) in the near future. Thomisid spider says thank you for reading:

"Thanks for reading. Give me a hug."

Spider Web LInks, #2

2012-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

This week (and probably from now on) I will be branching out into all of the arachnids for my news updates. How could I possibly leave out a story on scorpion fluorescence?

Spiders lack ears but they have very sensitive hearing. Find out how this is possible.

Richard Bradley and R.J. Adams spill the news about their plans for guidebooks on North America and California spiders over at the bugguide forums.

Scorpion fluorescence may actually help the scorpions avoid exposure during moonlit nights.

The magnificence of spider silk, as told by Cheryl Hayashi during her TED talk.

Radioactive spider webs or microbial growth? Something's thriving in a radioactive environment.

Spider genes spliced into silkworms for experimentally stronger silk. A potential answer as to how to harvest nature's strongest fiber.
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And here's a picture of a Harvestman (Order: Opiliones) just because:

A Picture Worth Posting

2012-01-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

A Pholcid spiderling plays around on a couple of petri dishes. Add a little backlighting and you get an image which shows just how elegant spiders can be. There are a lot of other things spiders can be to most people (piss-pants frightening, disgusting, etc.), but I believe even the most arachnophobic of arachnophobes can be brought around.

Taken at my desk with a Canon t2i, 100mm USM Macro and remote flash

In some future post I'll write about Lynne Kelly's compelling book, Spiders: Learning to Love Them. She chronicles, among many other interesting spider stories, cases of some of the most arachnophobic people I've ever heard of who end up handling live tarantulas by the end of their therapy and, get this - they enjoy it. The reason for widespread arachnophobia among humans (another post for the future) is still being researched, but what has been proven is that a knee-jerk reaction away from eight-legged creatures can easily become an intense curiosity.

New Life in the Wintertime

2012-01-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

And I thought everything was dead/dying this time of year...

Judging by the egg-sac and the close proximity of other egg-sacs with mothers nearby, I am guessing these little guys are Steatoda triangulosa, but it is really too early to tell. What I do know for sure is that if these guys do not all scatter within the next day, they will start to eat each other. The holiday spirit wears off pretty fast if you're a baby arachnid.

I also like the little spiderling who seems to be soldiering out onto the great-white yonder. He is really just as confused and hungry as his brothers and sisters, but it's more fun to pretend that he is the protagonist in this story.

Uloborid double-take

2011-12-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

I posted a picture a little while back of a Uloborid spider that I found in my garage. I went out and took some more pictures, just for fun, and came across an interesting find. For starters, let's take a look at the spider:

One notable (but unseen) feature of these spiders is that they lack venom glands. Just about every species of spider on the planet uses venom to subdue its prey, with only a few known exceptions to science. The Uloborids are a fairly widespread exception - they can be found across the United States, including in my garage.

After reviewing my lastest batch of photos, I noticed a bright blue-green color coming from the legs. Upon closer inspection, it appears that this Uloborid's body is substantially covered by this oddly colored cuticle:

I've taken a look through my other photographs, and I'm sure it's not just a fluke of lighting. It may be nothing more than unusually colored cuticle, but I'll continue looking around for an answer. For now, it's one of the surprises of arthropod photography that makes the hobby totally worth it.

"With deadly bite"

2011-12-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

"From Greek ouloboros (ουλοβορος)- "with deadly bite"

Ironically, this genus- like the rest of its family, and unlike most or all other spiders- has no venom."

-Bugguide.net

Uloborus sp. found in the garage

Spider Web Links

2011-12-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

I'm noticing a lot of interesting spider stories around the web recently, mostly about research but also cool pictures, personal stories, etc. I really like the idea of having a hub of interesting/new links on a subject, a lot like Ed Young at Discover Magazine does for his weekly roundup on science journalism (I find a spider story there almost every week). In fact, I like the idea so much that I'm going to basically do what he does but with spider links instead of cool science stories. Science-ey spider news is generally not pouring out of the internet on a daily basis, so some of these will be a bit old, but hopefully still entertaining. Enjoy:

-How do the tiniest spiders carry out complex behaviors like web-spinning? They keep their brains in their legs.

-Don't know what to get your favorite arachnophile this holiday season? Ken The Bug Guy's got you covered.

-Look into my eyes. All eight of them. Photomicrography of jumping spider eyes by Walter Piorkowski.

-This one's from a few years ago, but it's made by NOVA, so you know it's good. A profile on evolutionary biologist Maydianne Andrade and her work with the Australian Red Back spiders.

-It appears that orb-web weavers actually keep some insects away from the web on purpose.

- Darwin's bark spider spins webs over 100 inches in diameter and drag-lines that cover 75 feet. Over running water. In the jungle.

Spider Pavillion at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum

2011-12-05T13:14:00.001-08:00

This is exactly what the spider world needs - an interactive exhibit with friendly and knowledgeable staff on hand to show how harmless and how cool spiders can be. For everyone in the lower bits of California, you should definitely stop by the Los Angeles Natural History Museum's spider pavilion next year in September and October. Here's a quick video with a museum staff member that will tell you a bit more about how the pavilion works. I can't wait to visit!

A Short Break

2011-12-04T18:17:00.001-08:00

I've been lacking on the posts this week, and with a week ahead full of meetings, school finals and various other wonderful life duties, posts will remain slow. I know, you're disappointed and your holidays are ruined, but stick with it - I'll be back before you know it. Here's a spider picture to tide you over:

Latrodectus hesperus

Spiders Over Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T00:30:00.001-08:00

I spent a lot of time in the garage this weekend, not cleaning anything, but rather, taking pictures and falling over all of the things that I should have cleaned. I'm realizing that a good arthropod photographer has a good eye for composition, lighting, etc. but is also a contortionist. Fellow arthropod photographers will know what I'm talking about.

I've been finding quite a few of these Agelenids in my garage recently. These spiders spin really cool funnel webs that they use as a retreat when spooked. They're also incredibly quick, so I had to be very careful not to touch their web with my flash or lens. The spider below is from the genus Hololena. I had to look at her private bits to find that out. Enjoy!

The Little Girl that Everybody is Afraid of

2011-11-20T21:02:00.001-08:00

This spider should be familiar to just about everybody living in North America. She is the infamous Black Widow. Her scientific name is, say it with me, Latrodectus mactans. I promise you that you'll impress your friends if you know that one.

Despite the rumor (or major, widespread, longstanding myth) that these spiders are vicious, this is not the case. Let me be clear: their venom can be harmful to humans, especially the elderly and infants. But they only bite when they are really in a bind, say in between your big toe and the inside of a shoe. Their bite is one of life preservation, not human predation.

Once you get past that, and maybe if you even spend a little bit of time watching them, you'll realize they're beautiful animals. And they're quite hairy. It's really easy to miss this fact because most black widow females are a dark and highly reflective, but upon closer inspection, you will see they have the many characteristic setae (hairs) that most every spider has:

New Spider Website

2011-11-17T21:20:00.001-08:00

Eric Eaton, primary author of the always helpful Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, has just started a new website dedicated to the spiders of North America. The new website, called simply Spiders.us, covers basics of spider identification, behavior, lists common species and busts some spider myths as well. The website just went up last week, so the list of species profiles is still rather small, but there is plenty to explore and read about.

Along with Bugguide.net, Spiders.us will be an asset to amateurs looking to learn a little bit more about the wonderful variety of spiders we have here in the states. Go check it out!

The Most Expensive Photograph of All Time

2011-11-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

What do you think a picture worth 4.3 million dollars looks like? Would you have guessed that it looks like this?

When I found out that Andreas Gursky's "Rhein II" sold for 4.3 million dollars, I was bewildered. Then I asked myself: What would a picture worth that much money look like to me? Is any work of art worth that sum of money? I don't have an answer to either of these questions but something in my head screams "No f*^&%$# Way". That answer, as an instinct, comes from knowing all of the other things that 4.3 million dollars could do. It also comes from personally knowing artists that create just for the fun of it, without any profit in mind (or charge reasonable amounts for their work... say, under a million dollars?)

I am not arguing that the picture should never have sold for that amount, or that, somehow, Gursky does not deserve his 4.3 million dollars. Being confuddled about what others consider to be good art, or what a piece of art should be worth is a fairly useless way to think about the issue. To me, this is exciting because it shows that definitions of what constitutes good art and what a piece of art should be worth are as slippery as ever. I may find "Rhein II" to be incredibly boring (I do like some of other Gursky's work), but hats off to him for raking that in. It's important that art continues to not make any sense.

LOOM

2011-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

I came across this amazing work of art a few months ago via Bug Girl's blog. For some reason, I didn't repost it then, but here it is, now. You'll definitely want to make this full-screen:

Tip of my hat to directors Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, Csaba Letay and their technical team. I was really surprised about at many anatomical details they got right, like the spigots of the spinnerets, for example. This is an artistic interpretation of what a predator/prey situation is like for most spiders, but it does give a really interesting, intimate look into how the process of envenomation and silk production works. The video took the team an entire year to produce, but it was worth the effort. Check out their website for more information on Loom, as well as other videos produced by Polynoid.

Cyclosa spp.: The funky-butt spiders

2011-11-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

Spiders belonging to the genus Cyclosa have unique morphology and also do something very unique with their webs. Take a look at the photographs below and see if you can spot anything strange about this male's abdomen:

Click 'Read More' below for the rest of the series:

If you noticed a pointed extension, making the abdomen into a tear-drop shape, well you've nailed it. The purpose of this extension does not become clear until the spider can be observed in its web:

The Cyclosa's oddly shaped abdomen allows it to blend in with the rest of its stabillimentum, making it more difficult for predators to spot among all of the detritus (detritus=non-living organic matter, in this case including dead insects from previous meals). There are many other theories as to the purpose of the stabillimentum, but the detritus-lined stabillimentum of this spider is unique to this genus and only one other in the Araneidae family.

As an aside, this male was only about 2 millimeters in length. The height of its web was only about 8 millimeters. Get out a ruler if you've forgotten what that looks like - these orb weavers are small. But, again, I found this in my backyard just by walking along the fence-line. I'm telling you people, just get out there and start looking - you'll find some amazingly small surprises.

Stagmomantus californica

2011-10-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

I always get excited when I see any variation of the name 'California' in a species name because its a good indicator, that whatever bug or arachnid it may be, I've got a decent chance (depending on what part of California it prefers) to find it. Stagmomantus californica, also known as the Californian Mantis, is one such local favorite. It is rare to get insects so large, yet so common in this area, so the Californian Mantis is a particularly wonderful organism to watch and photograph.

A Tiny Bit of Europe in California

2011-10-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

A female European Earwig (Forficula auricularia). Female and male earwigs can be identified by their differing pincers, with males generally having long, curved pincers and females with shorter, straighter ones. Earwigs were introduced to the Eastern United States in 1912. In little over a decade they had spread all the way to Portland, Oregon, and the city responded by promptly establishing the Bureau of Earwig Control in 1924. This was a bit of overkill considering that earwigs do not really bore into ears, and are only a mild household nuisance.
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Sources:
-Eaton, E.R., Kaufman, K. (2007) Field Guide to Insects of North America
-Bugguide.net: http://bugguide.net/node/view/23281

Photo Essay: Flight and Death of Spiderlings (pt. 2)

2011-10-17T22:32:00.001-07:00

After a few hours of unsuccessful attempts at ballooning, a few spiderlings made it out of their webs and into new territory. Unfortunately, the odds are against these almost defenseless young spiders, especially when there are larger, predatory arachnids hovering nearby...

This Enoplagnatha spiderling lands on a nearby plant, and begins to explore its surroundings.

Meanwhile, a male Mecaphesa sp. Crab Spider perches, predatory legs outstretched, searching for nearby prey. Males of many spider species can be spotted by their enlarged palps, the bulbous, boxing glove-like appendages near the mouth.

If you look closely at the middle-left underside of the leaf you can spot a dark, hanging figure. This is the Enoplagnatha spiderling. It was only seconds later that the spiderling came in range of the Crab Spider.

The Mecaphesa Crab Spider pins the spiderling to the leaf, injecting its venom into the side of the spiderling's abdomen.

At this point, the spiderling is no longer struggling, and the Mecaphesa Crab Spider will drain the haemolymph (insect and spider blood) from its body.

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All pictures taken with a Canon T2i, Canon 100mm USM Macro Lens with an off-camera, diffuse flash

Sources:

-Wikipedia: Ballooning - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballooning

-BugGuide.net - http://bugguide.net/node/view/4999

-Spiders of North America: an identificaiton manual by D. Ubick, P. Paquin, P.E. Cushing and V. Roth (2005)

Photo Essay: Flight and Death of Spiderlings (pt. 1)

2011-10-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Spiderlings are vulnerable little creatures right after hatching, and generally need to flee the scene of their birth before opportunist predators move in. One major way spiders, both immature and adult, move around is by ballooning. Spiderlings will will crawl to the highest place they can find, stick their abdomens in the air, and send out thin silk lines, waiting for the slightest draft to catch the lines. The thin silk, also known as gossammer, catches the slightest air current and can send the baby spiders flying miles into the air.

This is a pretty amazing process to witness, especially when you can see dozens of little spiderlings attempting this all at once. I had the good fortune of discovering a small web of Theridiidae (Cobweb spiders) spiders this last weekend, and took photographs of their journey. Be sure to follow all the way to part two to see the dramatic ending:

The small orange speckles in the shadow of this pot are the spiderlings. They are likely of the genus Enoplagnatha.

These spiders remained motionless in their web until sundown, when they finally began their search for nice ballooning perch.

Here is an example of 'ballooning'. The spider will stick its abdomen as high in the air as it can, in hopes of catching even a slight breeze (sometimes even warm-air convection currents from the pavement will suffice).

I witnessed a lot of false-starts, as you can see by the gossamer that is beginning to cover the rim of the pot.

Eventually, many of the spiderlings successfully took flight. Here is one spiderling in mid-takeoff.

For the conclusion of this essay (and of one spiderling's short life) check out Part Two

Grasshopper Surprise

2011-10-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

No, unfortunately the title of this post does not refer to an edible dish with grasshoppers as the 'surprise'. I say unfortunately because I'm constantly looking for opportunities to increase my entomophagous palette. I guess I'll have to make another trip to the Bohart Museum, or wait until I come across some specialty stores...

Anyway, the 'surprise' came in the form of a large grasshopper that plopped down onto the glass table in my backyard, just as I was coming inside. This gave me a great opportunity to play around with my flash, bouncing the light off, and sending it through the tabletop. And, the results (two of my favorites, anyway):

I am finding that grasshopper identification is pretty difficult, but this particular grasshopper is likely part of the Oediponidae Subfamily, also known as Banded-Wing Grasshoppers. It's going to take me a while longer to get it down to genus and species, but I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight until I can do a bit more research.

Thomisidae Baby

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

I find spiderlings pretty adorable. Maybe you can't cuddle them, and they're not furry, and they're actually little killing machines right out of the eggsack, but come on. They're pretty cute:

A Thomisidae spiderling. Likely Misumena or Misumenoides genus. *Correction: likely Mecaphasa genus

Bring it on.

Spider Anatomy and Physiology, guest starring Argiope aurantia

2011-10-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

These spiders (known formally as Argiope aurantia) go by many common names including the Yellow Garden Spider and the Black and Yellow Argiope. You can find them throughout the summer and fall in gardens and backyards across the United States. They are rather large for your garden-variety spider, but despite their size and warning colors (black and yellow says 'gross' to possible predators), they are not harmful to humans. For the conclusion to this captivating intro, follow the jump:

One really cool feature about many spiders is that they can re-grow their legs. This occurs during a molt, when the exoskeleton of an invertebrate is shed to make room for a slightly large body size. Oftentimes the re-grown leg is not as long or robust as the initial leg, but after another molt, the leg becomes nearly as good as new. You can see that this lovely lady in the picture above is missing two of her front legs. I'll be keeping an eye on her to see if I see any new limbs in the coming weeks.

Eye number and arrangement are critical in identifying spiders down to the family level, and sometimes down to the genus. Bugguide.net has a really easy to use and well put together page on spider eye-arrangement, found here. You will also notice those long appendages just under the eyes. Those are called the palps and they are useful in moving prey around, as well as for picking up chemical cues (notice the long black hairs used as sensory receptors). These are often mistaken as fangs, but generally, the fangs (or chelicerae) are found tucked under and in between the palps. You can just make out the chelicerae on this girl - the two dark, out of focus humps just below the eyes.

So, remember:
1. Eye arrangement is important in identifying spiders
2. The leg-like appendages that move around right below the eyes are called palps
3. The chelicerae, or fangs, are usually tucked under the front most part of the spider, unless she is feeding or defending, in which case, they will be pretty obvious.

Now you can sound all smart when the next inevitable spider freak-out moment happens! (i.e. "Yes, most people call those fangs, but in the business, we call them chelicerae.")

The Lucky Shot

2011-10-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

This is a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) that I found while hunting around the Shaw Nature Reserve in Grey Summit, Missouri this last summer. An interesting point was brought up by Alex Wild at the workshop I was attending: namely that the 'bug on leaf' or 'bug on flower' without any interesting lighting or behavior can make for a really boring photograph. Once the point was made, this became very obvious to me. I have since made it a point to wait for an interesting moment to open the shutter, or change the angle of the flash. These simple tips can get anybody far in photography, regardless of the subject or the quality of your camera. At the heart of this advice is experimentation. Without it, it is hard to make a splash in any discipline.

The above shot was lucky in that I did not do anything special with the lighting or the composition. The drops of dew on the beetle's elytra and the blurred background (which makes the antenna stand out) make this one a keeper.

Hanging Out With an Orbweaver

2011-10-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

For the last three days I have watched a large Neoscona crucifera orbweaving spider go about her daily business in my backyard. She begins her duties by consuming her old web at about 7:30 p.m. Spiders will eat their webs because they contain a large amount of protein that would otherwise go to waste if simply discarded. By 10:30 p.m., she begins spinning her new web, making the spokes first, then some supporting spirals, and finally, the sticky silk spirals that make up the signature orb-web. She was incredibly beautiful to watch - meticulous, ordered, but with appearance of being clumsy at times. It is truly amazing that these spiders have this capability from their time as spiderlings. Here are a few photographs I took of her last night:

Unfortunately, it was just after my photo-shoot that she suddenly disappeared. She left a partially devoured web still floating in the air. I can't help but think my constant movement and flashing (the camera flash, that is), scared her away. I was glad to watch her for the time I did, and I look forward to next autumn when these orb-weavers once again return in great numbers to the garden.

Late Night Snack

2011-09-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

Just tonight, within fifteen minutes of exploring my backyard with a flash light, I was able to watch a beautiful Neoscona crucifera orb-weaver spider spin a three-foot web, and I caught this little jumping spider chowing down on a fly. If you look closely, you can see that the fly's head has actually been caught by another spider's silk line.

I highly recommend exploring your backyard at night with a flashlight. You will find things that you just won't see by the light of day.
______________________________________________________________________

Canon T2i w/ Canon 100mm macro
1/200 sec. @ f/16 w/ off-camera flash

The Difference A Flash Can Make

2011-09-18T22:16:00.000-07:00

Without a flash, using ambient light:

Equipment: Canon T2i w/ Canon 100mm macro @ f/3.2, 1/200 sec.

The same Western Spotted Orbweaver (Neoscona oaxacensis), with a flash, taken from a slightly lower angle:

@ f/16, 1/200 sec., using an off-camera, diffused flash

Analysis: Two totally different pictures. It's amazing what a little bit of artificial light and a change of angle will do. As far as my preference goes, I like the second one better because it's just creepy. I'm not an arachnaphobe, myself, but there's no denying that the second images harkens to the horror-movie style portrayal that most spiders have garnered over the years.

A Spontaneously Generated Blog Post

2011-09-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

It is nearly impossible to research the early history of biology and entomology without running into Aristotle's spontaneous generation. After all, the idea that organisms poofed into existence out of thin air (and in accordance with God's will) dominated scientific thinking for nearly two thousand years. Every once in a while I hear a spontaneous generation story that really makes me chuckle. While cruising wikipedia, I found this gem:

"Vitruvius, a Roman architect and writer of the 1st century BCE, advised that libraries be placed facing eastwards to benefit from morning light, but not towards the south or the west as those winds generate bookworms."

But then I asked myself: What is a bookworm? I don't mean a bibliophile (one who -philes books, of course), but is there a particular species of insect that has plagued librarians and book collectors over the centuries?

A text from the Yale Medical School Library suffering from 'bookworm' damage
(Photo: Wikipedia Page - Bookworm)

It turns out that 'book worm' has been a catch-all term for many species of insects and insect larvae that consume old paper in damp, dark spaces. Bookworms include the Deathwatch Beetle larvae (Xestobium rufovillosum), the Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum), and the appropriately named booklouse (Trogium pulsatorium) which actually feeds on the microscopic mold that grows in older books.

The common Furniture Beetle (Anobium punctatum), a 'bookworm'
(Photo: ©Entomart via Wikipedia)

I'm not the only person who has wondered about the catch-all term. John Francis Xavier O'Conor wrote a whole book about these studious creatures back in 1898 called Facts about bookworms: their history in literature and work in libraries. I think that title is a bit tongue-in-cheek (it works for the humans and the bugs!). Here is a passage that I found particularly relevant:

"A true bookworm visible to the naked eye it was, and it was possible that there were others that might be found under similiar conditions. There was a thrill of satisfaction in the thought that I could verify a word that seemed to have hovered on the borderland of fact and fiction..."

I hope I have verified that word a bit for all of you out there in internet land. Despite this dose of historical reality, I'll always think of bookworms as being something more like this:

____________________________________
Sources:

1. Wikipedia: the Bookworm
2. John Francis Xavier O'conor's Facts About Bookworms

The Insect Collector's Dilemma

2011-09-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

As a budding entomologist, I am still finding my favorite way to interact with insects. Photography was an easy choice because I have always enjoyed photography, ever since I bought my first Nikon film camera back in high school. Alex Wild's blog, along with the beautiful work over at photomacrography.net inspired me to combine these two interests. But, of course, photography is a fairly new way to interact with arthropods. A more traditional hobby and profession has been insect collecting.

I bought a small collecting kit from Bio Quip a few weeks ago. It arrived in the mail just before I left for Bugshot, so I did not get a chance to set it up. Well, last night, with an already-dead weevil found on my front porch, I pinned my first invertebrate. I am still so excited 24 hours later about that one pinning. But today, I also tried to catch and kill my first live insect. It was one thing to have an already dead specimen ready for rehydration and pinning, but for me, it's another to gas an insect with ethyl acetate. I had to watch this grasshopper, whom I already named Jack (for no good reason), spit up haemolymph and pump its abdomen to try to bring in fresh air. It began twitching and was obviously panicking. By then, it was too late. Jack will still be pinned tonight, and I will still really enjoy having him (or her?) in my collection, but I've come up with a compromise for the future.

I have decided to catch insects and rear them in small pet containers. This will at least make the end of their lives a little more comfortable, but it also allows me to photograph them. Considering the relatively short lifespan of insects, I will not have to wait too long (maybe a few months in some cases), and I will pin them as soon as they have died by a "natural" death. This will also give me time to observe their behavior and learn more about them. Ultimately, that's my favorite way to interact with invertebrates. Their cleaning, feeding, and mating behaviors are part of what makes them so interesting to me.

Something like this. (Photo: petco.com)

Here's the funny thing: I kill at least a dozen insects every day when I drive down the road. Much of what I eat has to be killed, both plants and animals. I do not have moral qualms about these, but then, why does my conscience kick in for collecting? Who knows. I hope to donate my collection to a school or museum in the future, if not to contribute to science, then to at least inspire others to take notice of the invertebrates around them. My feelings about killing and pinning may change in time, but for now, I've found a compromise that won't rack my brain too much.

Thanks for putting up with my moral vomit! And to reward you for your troubles, here is a lovely Crab Spider:

Misumenoides formosipes photographed in Grey Summit, Missouri

Bugshot 2011 Recap

2011-09-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I attended the inaugural Bugshot 2011 at the Shaw Nature Reserve, just outside of St. Louis Missouri. What an awesome conference it was. The people who attended were incredibly helpful and just a lot of fun to be around. We ate really good food, explored the nature reserve, and just geeked out on both entomology and photography late into the night. I took a lot of photos, but the two below are my favorites from the weekend:

A hoverfly (Toxomerus politus) hovering a few centimeters above my shoe

A Nursery Web Spider (Pisauridae Family)

There was a ton of advice and new techniques I learned, but rather than try and explain everything here, let me pass on a few things that will be applicable to photography in general, and especially to photographing invertebrates:

1. Know your subject - by studying an animal's habits you will know when to get the best shots of interesting behavior. For insects, look out for cleaning and feeding behaviors, especially.

2. Experiment with your lighting - There are a lot of cheap, easy ways to augment the flash on your camera for more diffuse, even lighting. Some of the creative set-ups I saw used milk-jug plastic and tracing paper, just to name a few.

3. Custom Functions - All major DSLRs, as well as many of the nicer point and shoots, have a ton of custom functions available. Read your manual to see what kind of creative control you can get on your camera gear.

The above advice was passed on to us Bugshoters (Bugshooters?) by instructors Alex Wild, John Abbott and Thomas Shahan. We also had incredibly talented photographers amongst the attendees, too. I will be adding many of the attendee's blogs on my blogroll for others to peruse as soon as I get the contact information.

Thanks again to everyone who made Bugshot 2011 such a success!

Headed to BugShot 2011

2011-08-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

First, I owe the internet and the three people who read this blog (my parents and somebody from India), an apology for being light on the updates recently. School has started and that means less time for the arthropods. This saddens me, but I promise it is only temporary, as many projects and photographs will be posted once things get settled.

One really cool insect related event that I am attending before the end of summer is BugShot 2011. I leave on Thursday to go hunt around at the Shaw Nature Reserve in Missouri with some of the most talented terrestrial arthropod photographers in the world! You know I'm excited about something when I start packing a whole two days in advance. Really, that is special.

Here is the flyer, and some information:

I promise some cool photographs, as well as some tips on photo techniques for all of those interested, upon my return. See you after Labor Day!

Cranefly Silhouette

2011-08-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

A crane fly belonging to the Tipulidae Family. Found resting on a tree in the hot afternoon.

The Cuteness is Overwhelming

2011-08-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Large compound eyes make almost all Damseflies adorable at this angle

Lights Above, Lights Below

2011-08-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

So. Cool. Two very different kinds of light combined for one stunning image. Courtesy of Astronomy Picture of the Day, photographed by Mike Rosinski.

Picture by Mike Rosinski via APOD

Attention Kids, Adults, Teachers and Citizen Scientists: School of Ants Needs You!

2011-08-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've got a really fun opportunity for you and anyone interested to become apart of a real scientific survey. Don't worry - this isn't the kind of long, boring survey you're used to. In this survey, you get to collect ants! School of Ants is a nation-wide program set up by the Department of Biology at North Carolina State University that will identify and map the species of ants in your area. You can check out the School of Ants website here to get information on how you can participate in documenting ant diversity in your own area. I just received my ant kit in the mail and will be going out to collect shortly. Take a look:

Cooooooooool. Their next round of kits will go out on September 1st, so mark the date on your calendar to sign up!

We Eat Insects Every Day!

2011-08-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

Because most of us here in the states buy our food from supermarkets, grocery stores, and the occasional farmer’s market, we are largely disconnected from how our food is processed. It is a price (whether small or large is up to you to decide) we pay for this modern convenience. So, when I mention to people what kinds of insect-related things accidentally and unavoidably get into our food, the reaction is usually a textbook gross-out. I find this subject particularly interesting, so I figured it was about time I shared it with a wider audience for an even wider gross-out.

The FDA regulates the amount of insects and insect parts per weight of food that is sold commercially. While it is no secret what their criteria are, it is also hardly known that so many insect bodies and appendages go into the food we eat, daily. And I am not just talking about your fresh fruits and veggies, either. Take a look at the list below for just a few popular food items, and corresponding limits of insect material:

CHOCOLATE AND CHOCOLATE LIQUOR

Insect filth
(AOAC 965.38)

Average is 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams when 6 100-gram subsamples are examined
OR
Any 1 subsample contains 90 or more insect fragments

TOMATO PASTE, PIZZA AND OTHER SAUCES

Drosophila fly
(AOAC 955.46)

Average of 30 or more fly eggs per 100 grams
OR
15 or more fly eggs and 1 or more maggots per 100 grams
OR
2 or more maggots per 100 grams in a minimum of 12 subsamples

CINNAMON, GROUND

Insect filth
(AOAC 968.38b)

Average of 400 or more insect fragments per 50 gram

For some of the other foods listed and their “defects”, check out the Defects Level Handbook.

To clarify, the above numbers are the limit of what is acceptable before food is rejected for commercial sale. I have not been able to find any numbers on the average insect parts per weight (I’m guessing that’s not something the FDA is eager to publish), but if the FDA can be believed, the amount is well below the posted numbers.

Whether you’re grossed out or not, it’s important to think this one through. Our food is largely grown in fields, outside where insects, dirt, and Mother Nature in general does her best work. It is inevitable that some insect material will get through the cleaning and packaging process and wind up in our grocery bags. It would be nearly impossible and totally unnecessary to eliminate every single bit of dead insect material, especially considering the scales at which our food is produced today. It is important, though, that we continue to monitor the kinds and amounts that are in our food supply.

On top of the obvious practical reason mentioned above, humans have been ingesting insects, both accidentally and willingly, for as long as agriculture and hunting-gathering has been a practice (so, for all of modern human existence) without dire consequences. Large populations around the globe still depend on insects as a vital source for protein and other vitamins and minerals, and we here in the states willingly devour crustaceans, close relatives to insects, without much thought, other than maybe "delicious".

Conclusion: The relatively small amount of insect and insect parts in our foods are not harmful, and are unavoidable as a part of our diet. We can either continue to arbitrarily detest insects as food or accept them as part of our daily lives, which they are and will continue to be, even if we don't like the idea.

Arthropods Keeping Time

2011-07-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

A very creative man by the name of Mike Libby had the awesome idea to bring together arthropods and clock parts in a really cool way. Check out some of his creations, below:

Libby says his creations are a "a unique celebration of the contradictions between nature and technology." I would have to disagree here. If anything, I am constantly amazed at how much our technology, especially the field of robotics, is successfully mimicking the insect world. Besides just looking really cool, I think this is what gives his pieces such charm - insects, and all life for that matter, function just like the technology that surrounds us on a daily basis.

Be sure to check out the rest of his great insect & arachnid art in his Collection section.

“In all of the kingdom of the living, there is no more a deadly or voracious killer than the praying mantis”

2011-07-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Aside from being laughably untrue (although mantises make for pretty amazing predators), that statement is just one of many awesome one-liners from B-Movie Sci-Fi and Horror classics. Tonight, in the second installment of 'The Late-Night, Double-Feature, Insect & Arachnid Show' series, we are featuring the who-could-forget-it classic, The Deadly Mantis (where that wonderful quote comes from), followed by the heart-stopping The Spider (a.k.a Earth vs. The Spider). Be sure to listen for the hilariously random "Mamma Mia!" in the trailer for The Deadly Mantis:

The Deadly Mantis (1957):

And what would we do without our high-school science teachers? Apparently perish by way of giant spiders. Let's re-invigorate our K-12 science programs, everyone, before it's too late:

The Spider (1958) :

The Assassinator

2011-07-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

I posted last week on some of the amazing diversity of life that is in our own backyards. To give a better example, meet an Assassin Bug - a rare sight in my backyard here in California. Assassin Bugs belong to the order Hemiptera, which means they can be distinguished from other insects by specialized sucking mouthparts. Many insects within Hemiptera use their specialized sucking mouthparts to tap into plant juices, like the all-too-familiar aphids. Other Hemipterans, like the Assassin Bug, are insectivorous, and use their evolutionarily equipped feeding tubes to inject a lethal saliva into their prey before sucking out the insides:

An Assassin Bug belonging to the Zelus genus preys on a Lady Bug

Notice the long beak-mouth specialized for piercing and sucking.

Movie stars' kids are into eating insects... so you should be, too!

2011-07-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

I found a great snippet from Yahoo News about Angelina Jolie's kids trying crickets for the first time on their visit to Cambodia. Normally, I couldn't care less about celebrities or what their kids are doing, wearing, etc. but any celebrity who supports entomophagy definitely has my attention. Here's the quote via omg.yahoo:

"The biggest thing actually -- to be honest -- here in Cambodia is my boys love to eat crickets. It's their favorite thing. ... When I first gave it to them, I thought -- I wanted them to understand. Culturally, I wanted them not to be turned off by something that was of their culture. So I bought it and ... they ate them like Doritos, and they wouldn't stop. And they brought to-go boxes home, and I had to actually ban the cricket-eating at a certain point because I was afraid they were gonna get sick from eating too many."

"They're good! They are like potato chips," Jolie adds. "We've had 'the beetle.' They call it a cockroach, I think it's more like a beetle. I have yet to have the tarantulas on a stick or spider soup here. It does seem like an odd thing to eat -- no, it does! I don't know if I can get around the fur, but" -- she says, with a knowing smile -- "you gotta try everything."

An unrelated picture of prepared insects for sale in Bangcock, Thailand (via Wikipedia)

Even if eating insects doesn't sound like a good idea, many people around the world depend on insects for nutrients like protein, and have even made delicacies out of some (we love lobster, crab and shrimp here in the states - close relatives to spiders and insects). So maybe there's something to this? I think so. Entomophagy, the act of eating insects, is really a huge topic in itself and deserves a dedicated post. Unti then, at least try to keep an open mind and an open mouth when it comes to eating insects and arachnids.

Backyard Summer Insects

2011-07-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of shots from a journey into my backyard earlier this afternoon. There is a pretty amazing diversity of life back there. You don't need any fancy equipment to appreciate this, just a little bit of time and patience - two things we all have an abundance of, right?

Take some time one of these summer evenings to check out some of the plants, insects, birds and mammals that are living nearby. If you're really interested, get ahold of some binoculars or a magnifying glass. And if you're really really interested, there are some great field guides available that will give you interesting details on the local flora and fauna. There are amazing things going on out there right now, you just have to walk out your door to appreciate them.

A pond damselfly (Family Coenagrionidae) taking a short break.

A largid bug (Largus californicus) successfully disentangles itself from some dog hair.

The Late Night, Double Feature, Insect & Arachnid Show *

2011-07-17T00:21:00.000-07:00

As a new series here on Micro Voyages, I present The Late Night, Double Feature, Insect & Arachnid Show. Each post will highlight two science-fiction/horror movies that either center around or involve terrestrial arthropods in some major way. I haven't seen all of the movies I'll be featuring here, but as a huge fan of both science-fiction/horror movies and insects, you can bet these are on the top of my list. If you're concerned about the quality-content of the films that I haven't had a chance to screen yet, just know that many of them come highly-recommended from a trustworthy source.

To kick off the series, we have The Black Scorpion and THEM - "classics" from the age of nuclear fall-out fears:

The Black Scorpion (1957)

THEM (1954)

________________________________________________________________

*If the reference in the title didn't ring any bells, then you haven't heard/watched this enough.

Do Insects Sleep?

2011-07-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

I love sleep. Usually, I can't get enough of it. My waking hours are enjoyable too, but that's not what I'm thinking about when my alarm goes off in the morning.

But, do insects sleep? I've been wondering about this for some time. Finally, I simply googled it, and found a great answer courtesy of Doug Yanega of the UC Riverside Department of Entomology (via The Straight Dope):

"Short answer: Yes, but not the way we do. The vast majority of insects are active only during the day or only at night, and they will rest during their off-time. But is it "sleep"?

Long answer: Sleep in vertebrates is a complex physiological process, involving a number of very specific brain functions and hormones. In that sense, no arthropods have the same sort of sleep we do, since their physiology is almost completely different. However, there is a state called "torpor" that is the insect's equivalent of sleep. If any vertebrates come close, it would be fish. An insect in torpor exhibits immobility and distinctly reduced response to stimuli, though it can rouse from torpor in a matter of seconds if the stimulus is strong enough. Bearing in mind that there are already 1 million known insect species (out of an estimated 10-50 million), you'll appreciate that this is a generalization. There certainly are some insects, especially aquatic ones and those that live near the poles, that have different daily cycles or even maintain round-the-clock activity.

Also, among insects that do exhibit torpor, the degree and nature of its expression is somewhat variable.
One of the more dramatic forms is seen in some bees (mostly in the family Apidae, and mostly in males) which will firmly clamp onto a plant with their jaws in the evening, and let go with their legs, which they then fold up. They hold this odd pose all night long, dangling in space, until they rouse the following morning. Many of the species which do this use the same spot every evening, presumably marking it with some chemical that they can detect from a distance, so they can find their way back. This very specific behavior is about the closest thing any insect has to conventional sleep."

New Species Alert: Jumping Cockroach

2011-07-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, your worst nightmare just came true. This paper, which I found via Bug Girl, was published last year, and it describes a brand new species of cockroach. The cockroaches (Order Blattodea) have amazing adaptations - some species can bury themselves into the desert sand to cool down, while others have evolved special scuba-style air pockets for breathing underwater.

This particular species, Saltoblatella montistabularis, lives in grassy areas, and has evolved elongated hind legs for jumping, similar to the grasshoppers. As Bug Girl mentions in her post, this is evidence of convergent evolution - when two relatively unrelated species evolve similar adaptations based on pressure(s) from their environment. In this case, it's long legs for jumping to evade predators or to find new food. You'll be disappointed to know that unless you live anywhere near Table Mountain in South Africa, you're not likely to encounter this species anytime soon. Don't be too disappointed, though - we have fifty known species of cockroach right here in North America!

Saltoblatella montistabularis

The leg labeled 'h' is one of the modified hind jumping legs

Climates, they are a changin'

2011-07-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Last night, while driving, I heard an ad on the radio voiced by Ellen Page of Juno and Inception fame. It struck me as odd because I recognized her voice right away, and the ad was missing the annoying background music and sound effects usually heard on radio advertisements. She was speaking about climate change, specifically for the organization, 350. We have all heard so much about climate change, and whether you would like to believe it or not, it is happening. The organization that she was speaking for, 350, is one of many organizations campaigning to raise awareness about climate change, and their numerical name is an important part of this. I highly recommend going and checking out their website and reading up on some of the simple, understandable, and undeniable facts about global warming, and what can be done to counter it.

Lembert's Green Hairstreak (Callophrys sheridanii lemberti)

Image Credit: Erik Runquist via http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/

Because this is an insect and arachnid blog, there will of course be a connection. In March of this year, the Sacramento News and Review headlined an excellent story about how a local Lepidopetrist (butterfly/moth expert) at UC Davis, has been tracking drastic climate change by monitoring local butterfly populations. The article takes a wonderful look at Art Shapiro, a talented and committed naturalist, whose lifelong passion for insects has led to a very serious study on how climate change and suburban sprawl is affecting these animals. Local readers will recognize the names of some of his collecting sites, which hopefully hits home the point that while this is a global issue, it has very real impacts right in our own backyards.

Spiders, Creepy and Cute

2011-06-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have been putting up Micro Voyages flyers around campus with the sub-title that reads: "A cure for all of your insect & arachnid phobias". This is mostly a joke, but I would like to get people more comfortable, if not even interested in these little guys. I really forestall any progress made in that direction when I take pictures like this:

A Cobweb Weaver (Theridiidae Family)

The glow of the eyes is coming from a reflection of the flash, not from the spider, itself. Knowing that doesn't make this picture any less creepy though. And while I think that's awesome, I would like to steer people back toward the cute, cuddly sort of feelings about insects and arachnids (note: do not cuddle with any spiders you are unfamiliar with). My cuteness-counter-attack:

An Orb Weaver (Araneidae Family)

If that last picture doesn't evoke the same feelings you get when you see a puppy or a kitten, well then, I've just got to work harder.

Cricket and Katydid Songs

2011-06-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

One of the best sounds of summer is the cricket and katydid song. These songs differ wildly in style and it turns out these are all necessary cues to identify the crickets and katydids down to the species level. I found a great website from the Entomology Department at the University of Florida that lets you sample songs from some of the more common species. The next time you're out enjoying the sounds of summer, remember that your enjoyment is just a byproduct - they're singing to get it on!

A soon-to-be-identified Katydid.

You Hairy Weevil, You

2011-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

For all of the Yellow Starthistle Hairy Weevil (Eustenopus villosus) fans out there:

Canon T2i w/ 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, 1/200 @ f/18

Heading to Bugshot 2011

2011-06-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

I just got the word today that I received a fee waiver for BugShot 2011! This will be an awesome opportunity to learn some new macro photography and post-processing skills from seasoned arthropod photographers. The deadline for the student fee waiver has passed, but registration is still open for anyone interested.

Summer Sunday Sand Wasps

2011-06-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of a wasp of the Bembicini Tribe, known to most of us beach and trail-goers as sand wasps. According to Arthur Evan's Field Guide to Insects & Spiders of N. America, the females stock the burrows with various fly species that they catch while in flight. Pretty awesome.

Today, A Weevil Gets Stuck

2011-06-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have days like this?

Canon T2i, 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, 1/200 @ f/9

I found this guy on the light rail! I had to drain my water bottle and get him inside all while remaining super stealthy so none of my fellow passengers would freak out. I then let him loose in our garden, and the first thing he did was get wedged in between this stem and leaf stock. He eventually flew away, though - seriously long day for a beetle.

*ID note: he/she is a weevil, so he/she belongs to the Curculionidae Family, but that was as far as I was able to get.

Arachnids in the Arboretum

2011-06-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

My first project with my new equipment will be a survey of all the spiders and arachnids that I can find in the CSUS Arboretum. The idea is to see which families and genera we have on campus, photograph them in action, then post pictures and information about each species to the web. The website portion of this project is far from underway, but I would like it to be a way for people to identify the local arachnid fauna. I'll also be busting some myths about spiders and arachnids, like for example, the tall-tale that daddy long-legs are the most venomous spiders in the world. This, of course, has already been shown not to be true by the Mythbusters, themselves. Click 'Read More' below for more pictures:

Long-jawed Orbweaver (Tetragnatha species)

Below are some preview images of what will be on the guide when it goes up next year. All photographs were taken with a Canon T2i and Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens:

Bold Jumping Spider (Phidippus audax) chowing down on a Brown Harvestman (Phalangium species)

White Cobweb-Weaver Spider (Enoplagnatha species)

Brown Harvestman (Phalangium species)

The Learning Curve Begins

2011-06-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

My new set up is underway, now with the addition of a stereo microscope! You can check it out, and the rest of my preliminary home studio in the picture below:

I have photographed my first insect with the new stereo microscope. I haven't been able to identify it yet, but I believe it is a nymph of the order Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers & katydids). Feel free to help out with the identification if you happen to know. I'll be attempting to raise this little guy (assuming that he/she isn't already full grown):

I have a lot of work to do to get the pictures and blog-worthy material I want out of this new set up, but the challenge is exciting. My macro lens will be here tomorrow, and from there you can expect a lot more creepy-crawly stuff. WOOOOHOOO!!!!

Micro Voyage Transitions

2011-06-04T12:48:00.000-07:00

It has been almost a month since my last post, and I apologize - Micro Voyages is going through a major transition right now. My microscope set up is being altered so that I can take both macro-photos with a regular DSLR and Macro Lens combination, AND do photography through a new stereo microscope. This is going to allow me to focus my attention more on insects and other slightly-larger-than-microscopic-organisms. That said, these posts will still most definitely be micro-voyages, but of a more biological nature.

Until I get my new equipment set up, I'll be posting some really amazing work and links related to photomicrography and macro photography. First up is a photomicrographer by the name of Charles Krebs. This guy has some of the best through-the-microscope photographs I have ever seen, and quite the range of subjects, too. You can get to his site here, and browse through his galleries.

Here's a small preview of what is to come on the blog. This is a picture I took of the head of a midge larva, but most of you will be familiar with the adult form of this tiny fly, buzzing around in small groups during the summertime:

Micro Mini-Post: Broccolicious

2011-05-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

I started out shooting fruits and vegetables for this post and it somehow turned into a strictly broccoli one. Once again, I was mistaken in thinking I could neatly compile all of the coolest fruits and vegetables (of which there are hundreds, if not thousands of varieties) and then shoot them under the microscope in a timely manner. Instead, I've spent the last week looking at only broccoli, and the shots I've gotten so far were worth posting already. If it's taken me this long just to shoot a single vegetable, it will be eons before I can get a good themed post going, so, in the meantime, enjoy the fruits (the pun only works if you think of broccoli as a fruit, which it is not) of my labor, and expect more in the near future:

Don't defile a church while a microscopist is around:

2011-04-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Not many years ago an eminent microscopist recieved a communication inquiring whether, if a minute portion of dried skin were submitted to him, he could determinei it be human skin or not. He replied that he thought he could. Accordingly a very minute fragment was forwarded to him, somewhat resembling what might be torn from the surface of an old trunk, with all hte hair rubbed off.
The professor brought his microscope to bear upon it, and presently found some fine hairs scattered over the surface; after carefully examining which, he pronounced with confidence that they were human hairs, and such as grew on the naked parts of the body; and still further, that the person who had owned them was of a fair complexion.
This was a very interesting decision, because the fragment of skin was taken from the door of an old church in Yorkshire; in the vicinity of which a tradition is preserved, that about a thousand years ago a Danish robber had violated this church, and having been taken, was condemned to be flayed, and his skin nailed to the churchdoor as a terror to evil-doers. The action of the weather and other causes had long ago removed all traces of the stretched and dreid skin, except that, form the edges of the broad-headed nails with which the door was studded, fargments still peeped out. "

-Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Evenings At The Microscope by Philip Henry Gosse (c. 1860s)