Monthly Archives: March 2013

Four?

Posted on 23 March 2013 by David Maddison

In western North America small, dark Bembidion (Plataphus) are common on gravel river shores.  Most of these are called Bembidion curtulatum.   They are the smallest members of subgenus Plataphus (sensu Lindroth) in North America, at about 3.5 mm long. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

BotW: Two species of Lachnophorini

Posted on 21 March 2013 by David Maddison

Because I have been remiss at blogging about beetles recently, today I’ll post two Beetles of the Week.  Both are members of the carabid tribe Lachnophorini. The first is a member of the genus Calybe, which are elegant, ant-like species … Continue reading →

Posted in Beetle of the Week | Tagged | 2 Comments

Where have all the left parentheses gone?

Posted on 15 March 2013 by David Maddison

Today is another day in which I am curmudgeon regarding grammar. Why, oh why, is it deemed acceptable by so many to have forlorn, partnerless right parentheses?  I am referring in particular to the common practice of presenting a numbered … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | 5 Comments

BotW: Bembidion bowditchii

Posted on 13 March 2013 by David Maddison

The beetle of the week is a very elegant species, Bembidion bowditchii, which lives in western North America.  It is rarely caught, but not uncommon in the right habitats: broad sandy shorelines of rivers.  It is abundant on the Kootenay River near … Continue reading →

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Drawing beetles

Posted on 11 March 2013 by David Maddison

I love the sculptural details of beetles, and their intricate structures and colors.  I like to draw them, although admittedly I haven’t done it much over the past 35 years.  I did the drawing above in 1981, which is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Illustrations | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Photography of beetle microsculpture

Posted on 8 March 2013 by David Maddison

Here’s the setup I use to photograph microsculpture of beetles.  I also use the same setup to photograph whole beetles, or other parts, including genitalia, although there is some variation in lighting, position, etc., depending upon the part.  In some … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina, Scientific Illustrations, Taxonomic Process | Tagged | 1 Comment

Julia’s brilliant idea

Posted on 7 March 2013 by David Maddison

My daughter Julia came up with a brilliant idea: partial birthdays by relatedness.  It goes like this.  Say your birthday is on 1 January.  On that day, you have a birthday.  Imagine your daughter’s birthday is 1 June.  On that … Continue reading →

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Sculpture on a very small scale

Posted on 7 March 2013 by David Maddison

If one looks up close onto the back of a carabid beetle, one will see (in most species) very fine, engraved lines which form a pattern, usually looking like honeycombs, or bricks, or long, thin parallel lines.  This is called … Continue reading →

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BotW: Bembidion poculare

Posted on 6 March 2013 by David Maddison

This Bembidion is common in oak woodlands in southern Arizona.  It is not directly associated with a body of water (which is unusual for a Bembidion), instead living between oaks and mesquite trees where the soil is slightly damp (perhaps in … Continue reading →

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Terminology

Posted on 4 March 2013 by David Maddison

When I was a Master’s degree student at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, my mentor (George Ball) had a list of requirements for word use in theses.  He also included in this list reasons for each requirement.  George’s thoughts … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | 5 Comments