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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · 28d

Always is!

Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 28d

IT’S TENEBRIONIDS AGAIN??

The Coleopterists Society @coleopsoc.bsky.social · 28d

#LiteratureNotice Maruyama et al. The second species of the enigmatic genus Microblattellus Ferrer, 2006 ( #Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) from Cambodia: A possibility of termitophily in the genus doi.org/10.11646/zoo... #Beetle #Beetles #NewSpecies #DarklingBeetles .

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jul 22

And this #TenebTuesday an answer (at last!)—this is the rarely collected Prateus fusculus LeConte, 1862, a member of the subfamily Lagriinae & type genus of the recently-established tribe Prateini (Aalbu et al. 2023)

Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jul 1

A mystery teneb for this #TenebTuesday — specimen collected by Charles Dury in Cincinnati &, until last month, was only identified as "'Tenebrionidae unknown' teste [George Henry] Horn" — any guesses?

A reddish-brown beetle specimen with moderately long antennae and two labels reading "Cin. O. / V-28-[?]" and "'Tenebrionidae / unknown' teste Horn"

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jul 1

A mystery teneb for this #TenebTuesday — specimen collected by Charles Dury in Cincinnati &, until last month, was only identified as "'Tenebrionidae unknown' teste [George Henry] Horn" — any guesses?

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jun 26

Found this cartoonish monstrosity of a specimen preparation while sorting through drawers of unidentified flies in @purdueentcoll.bsky.social !

Six flies minuten-pinned in an uneven row on the edge of a piece of card stock!

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Reposted by Chris Wirth

Andrew Johnston @andrewjohnston.bsky.social · Jun 18

Want to set up your own photo-stacking imaging system for under $3000? This post which outlines all the off-the-shelf items I used this year along with some recommendations for how to use it. Planning to talk about this at @entcollnet.bsky.social this November, too! www.insectid.org/post/focus-s...

Focus-stacking photography: Building your own system

Ten years ago, Alex Wild published a guide on Scientific American on how to make your own focus-stacking system for under $6000. I can't seem to find that post any more, just some secondary posts with...

www.insectid.org

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Reposted by Chris Wirth

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · Jun 10

But this is going to be yet another area where the taxonomists who did all the work to set up the species and the traits to identify them don't get paid. Even as many are retiring or losing their jobs, the resources get diverted away from expertise to the tech sector instead.

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jun 7

Spotted this “stack” of specimens collected by Charles Dury in 1904 at the Cincinnati Museum Center-upon turning over, I was surprised gold-colored corrosion(?) on the underside

A pin bearing several strips of paper with beetles neatly glued to them and text reading “Cin. O. 6-12-[190]4”

The underside of the pin and paper strips showing a patch of gold-colored corrosion

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Jun 4

And for #TenebTuesday here’s Strongylium crenatum Mäklin, 1867—this species is widespread in the southeastern US, but can separated from the other co-occurring Strongylium by its iridescent green coloration, punctate elytral striae, & indistinct, crenate pronotal margins

A green and brown beetle with punctate elytra on a white background

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · May 14

For #WeevilWednesday — a 106-year-old specimen of an anthribid, Toxonotus fascicularis (Schönherr 1833), described by its collector, Willis Blatchley, as "a prettily marked medium sized anthribid frequent on the dead branches" of saffron plum, Sideroxylon celastrinum.

A pinned specimen of a grey-brown-and-white-mottled fungus weevil with very long antennae and tufts of setae on its pronotum and elytra

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · May 14

Doyen & Lawrence (1979) note “Edrotes [Pimeliinae: Edrotini] (North America) & Epiphysa [Pimeliinae: Adesmiini] (southern Africa) are strikingly similar in external appearance [but] major differences in endoskeletal features, mouthparts & genitalia refute a close relationship" #TenebrionidTricky

A grey-black round beetle, missing an antenna, with yellow setae along the junction of its head and pronotum sitting on the ground

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · May 14

Back from an end-of-semester-hiatus here's Epiphysa ciliata Bates, 1872 (Pimeliinae: Adesmiini) for this #TenebTuesday —1 of 9 distinctively globose spp found across arid southern Africa. They are “crepuscular to nocturnal,” retreating to “rocky crevices or mammal burrows” in the day (Penrith 1978)

A grey-black round beetle with yellow setae along the junction of its head and pronotum sitting on the ground

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · May 5

It is-given the small amount, leave for now-have more pressing specimens to repair!

Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Apr 15

This specimen has been in @purdueentcoll.bsky.social for nearly 130 years — but has only two minute labels reading "Marquette, Michigan" & "H.G.H." [Henry Guernsey Hubbard] — Hubbard collected extensively in the Lake Superior region in 1876 (Mallis 1971), making this specimens over 149 years old!

Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Apr 15

Back from an unintended break — for this #TenebTuesday here's very typical (looking) #tenebrionid — Bouchardandrus concolor (LeConte, 1866), only species in the genus & only known to from the Great Lakes region of Canada (MB ON QC) & US (MI MN OH WI) (Steiner 2016, Bousquet et al. 2018)

A dorsal view of a pinned darkling beetle specimen with black body/appendages, punctate pronotum and striate elytra

A ventral view of a pinned darkling beetle specimen with black and red-tinted body, black appendages, and tufts of golden setae on tarsi

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Apr 15

Back from an unintended break — for this #TenebTuesday here's very typical (looking) #tenebrionid — Bouchardandrus concolor (LeConte, 1866), only species in the genus & only known to from the Great Lakes region of Canada (MB ON QC) & US (MI MN OH WI) (Steiner 2016, Bousquet et al. 2018)

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Apr 2

Exquisite! An identical model in the Essig Museum is labeled as made by Louis Auzoux around 1850

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 25

On this #TenebTuesday an excellent #tenebrionid — a species of Trogloderus (Blaptinae: Amphidorini) — the nine distinctively sculptured species are restricted to sandy areas & dunes in the western United States.

A brown beetle with ridged elytra and tuberculate pronotum sitting on light orange sand

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 19

From a warm night last fall—several Marbled Fungus Weevils, Euparius marmoreus (Olivier, 1795), at fungus on a fallen tree—these individuals show some of the variation in size & color common in this species!

Three blotchily-patterned beetles on flat, white-yellow fungus

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 19

The setae (hair-like structures) on the elytra are soft! But the specimens are small enough that I’ve only touched with forceps when cleaning or repairing

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 18

For this #TenebTuesday a deceptive #tenebrionid — Nilio (Linio) lanatus Germar, 1824 from Bahia, Brazil. Nilio adults & larvae (& sometimes aggregations of either or both stages!) can be found on trunks & branches of trees, where they have been observed feeding on fungus & lichens #Coletopera

A dorsal view of double-mounted (pinned) specimen of a beetle with an orange head and pronotum and elytra covered in light/off-grey setae that form patterns

A lateral view of double-mounted (pinned) specimen of a beetle with an orange head and pronotum and elytra covered in light/off-grey setae that form patterns

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 14

A pair of myrmecophilus crickets, Myrmecophilus pergandei Bruner, 1884, collected September 6, 1902 in Crawford County, Indiana by W.S. Blatchley—such cool insects! #Orthoptera

Two brown-orange wingless crickets preserved on (glued to) the same point

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Mar 12

And for this #TenebTuesday here's the distinctively diminutive, setose Eleodes barbata Wickham, 1918 (Blaptinae: Amphidorini)—the species is found in the Four-Corners region of the Colorado Plateau (AZ, CO, NM, & UT)—this beetle was voraciously nibbling on a dry blade of grass!

A brown, setose beetle nibbling on a dry blade of grass against an sandy orange background

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Feb 26

It's #TenebTuesday! This large (>2 cm), intricately sculptured #tenebrionid from Malawi is Catamerus revoili Fairmaire, 1887 (Lagriinae: Pycnocerini)—the 19 Pycnocerini genera are largely found in tropical Africa, w/ 3 in the Philippines, Indonesia, & Malaysia (Schawaller 2003)

A view of the head and pronotum of large blue beetle specimen

A top-down view of a large blue beetle specimen with wrinkled elytra

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Feb 19

For this late night #TenebTuesday here's a hand-colored plate of #tenebrionids from Lacordaire's monumental Genera des Coléoptères—this collection of twelve plates and text explanations was still in their original paper wrappers!

An plate illustrating five brown to black tenebrionid beetles (in the genera Salax, Edrotes, Triorophus, and Calyptopsis), with line drawings of head, palp, and antennal details

A green paper cover with text reading "SUITES A BUFFON, PLANCHES, 5 Livraison, INSECTES, COLÉOPTÈRES. PARIS, A LA LIBRAIRIE ENCYCLOPÉDIQUE DE RORET. Rue Hautefeuille, N°12"

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Reposted by Chris Wirth

Purdue Entomological Research Collection @purdueentcoll.bsky.social · Feb 12

Natural history collections, like the PERC, are the closest thing we have to a time machine! purdueag.exposure.co/perc

Purdue University’s ‘Time Machine’ - Purdue University College of Agriculture

Smith Hall, home of Purdue’s Entomology department, is a small brick building, over a century old, tucked behind much younger trees. But inside a hidden, world-renowned gem-a time machine of sorts, an...

purdueag.exposure.co

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Chris Wirth @ageofarthropods.bsky.social · Feb 12

Adult & larval forked fungus beetles (family Tenebrionidae) are found on/in shelf fungus across the eastern U.S. & Canada—& despite their appearance they can fly! #TenebTuesday

A bumpy brown beetle with two rounded pronotal horns sitting on a white and brown shelf fungus.

A bumpy brown beetle sitting on a white sheet.

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