Remember the myrmecological disagreement over maintaining Pyramica as a separate genus from the similar Strumigenys? After fulminating on the issue for some months, I’ve decided to throw my lot in with the synonomy. I give up. They’re all just Strumigenys. I have updated my galleries accordingly. There has not been any new research to shed light [...]
Posts on ‘February 18th, 2012’
Better microscope lighting in 20 seconds
Consider the standard configuration of stereomicroscope and fiber optic light used to examine insect specimens: Arranged like this, the lights provide point sources of intense light. A shiny ant specimen lit as above looks like so: Undiffuse light from the fiber optic source leaves harsh glare and dark shadows, and the ant’s skin textures and [...]
A personal weblog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.


















