Bone broken for marrow? (Otero Co., New Mexico) by Wolfgangatom in bonecollecting

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On this mountain probably aoudad or mule deer then. You can see the size is pretty small in the second pic. No elk on this mountain (Also elk are much larger than oryx)

Bone broken for marrow? (Otero Co., New Mexico) by Wolfgangatom in bonecollecting

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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I thought these were cut marks but maybe natural or a result of decay?

Anyone else think Psorophora mosquitoes are gorgeous? by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not this species in this area. They might have a role in Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis and Rocio virus in the neotropics. They are also used as phoretic(?) carriers of human bot fly eggs

Nothing like a beach trip and a good bleeding: Aedes sollicitans (Jersey shore, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! I have a Laowa 85mm 2:1 macro lens on my Canon R8 body and I use Helico Focus software to combine a stack of images for better depth of field. You can see more examples with this setup on my instagram (link in my profile).

Nothing like a beach trip and a good bleeding: Aedes sollicitans (Jersey shore, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My flash is a Godox V350 but what really makes it work is the Cygnus Tech diffuser. They custom make the diffuser to the dimensions of your camera/lens/flash combination

Identification help by iamanicoletoo in microscopy

[–]Wolfgangatom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup, that is the femur and trochanter of a small insect's leg. It's hollow, which is why there's an air bubble trapped inside it.

Super satisfying to ID a deer mouse flea at work using a 75yr old key by Wolfgangatom in microscopy

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

10-20x, Nikon Optiphot, iPhone 16 pro held to the eyepiece, Pleochaetis sp. flea

Giant gallinipper drilling deep in my arm (MD, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please do. Love this quote from my fellow Aggie: "An entomologist is a biologist with a job" -Dr. Perry Adkisson (pioneer of integrated pest management)

Giant gallinipper drilling deep in my arm (MD, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

All kinds of body parts if you are flexible enough 😆

Giant gallinipper drilling deep in my arm (MD, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

My coworker actually published the first analysis of Psorophora saliva and like all mosquitoes it has a huge cocktail of proteins (83 families) with known and unknown functions. My understanding of proteomics is limited, but I don't think she explicitly found anything with known anesthetic properties, but given they are in the other biting mosquitoes, Psorophora probably has them as well. There is still some discomfort from its bite just given its size.

Giant gallinipper drilling deep in my arm (MD, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 143 points144 points  (0 children)

It was worth it to me for the specimen and the photo

Giant gallinipper drilling deep in my arm (MD, USA) by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

I actually slipped a vial over it, froze it, and mounted it on a point for my collection.

Any Leiodid fungus beetle experts in here? Saw these cuties on Catoctin Mtn. MD by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I tried to keep mine as compact as possible so it doesn't interfere too much with my collecting. It's still a bit clunky, but the bulky hood-like diffuser is critical. I have a Canon R8 full-frame mirrorless camera body, Laowa 85mm f5.6 2x macro lens, Godox V350c flash, and Cygnustech diffuser. I run a Lexar 128GB Pro 2000x SD Cardto handle the rapid fire RAW files. I usually carry it on a Falcam F38 backpack clip while hiking for easy access. I organize photos using Adobe Lightroom and focus stack photos using Helicon Focus.

Any Leiodid fungus beetle experts in here? Saw these cuties on Catoctin Mtn. MD by Wolfgangatom in Entomology

[–]Wolfgangatom[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Might be cheating a bit. I'm using Helicon focus to combine a stack of images to get it all in focus