Monthly Archives: September 2013

Rainy-season beetles

Posted on 30 September 2013 by David Maddison

The rains have returned to the Pacific Northwest.  During the last few days a rain-drop symphony has been playing in my house in the woods, and the douglas fir and oaks are weeping in thanks for fall’s arrival after a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork, Revising Bembidiina | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

My favorite beetle illustration

Posted on 25 September 2013 by David Maddison

Today I was reminded of my favorite illustration of a carabid beetle.  Here it is.  Drawn by my daughter, Julia, 21 years ago, when she was 4. Given the prominence of the area around the discal setae of the elytra, … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Scientific Illustrations | 6 Comments

BotW: Cnemalobus

Posted on 25 September 2013 by David Maddison

Cnemalobus is a genus of large carabids from southern South America.   Here’s one from Chile: One of the cool things about Cnemalobus is that they make noises (they stridulate) as the run:

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Who should be listed on collecting labels?

Posted on 23 September 2013 by David Maddison

One of the questions that all collectors face is “what should I put on the label?”  From a time in which the only label on a specimen might be a gold dot, or simply “Canada”, we are now at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Another surprise in Lionepha

Posted on 20 September 2013 by David Maddison

Two days ago I had a post about an unexpected species of Lionepha in the Sierras, of which I became aware when I looked at a specimen that my graduate student John Sproul caught on the South Fork of Bishop … Continue reading →

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

A surprise in Lionepha

Posted on 18 September 2013 by David Maddison

In the late spring I was in the final stages of a manuscript about the genus Lionepha.  This paper will describe the new species I have mentioned earlier, describe the male of Lionepha chintimini for the first time, document DNA … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork, Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

BotW: Sphaeroderus

Posted on 16 September 2013 by David Maddison

At last, a beetle of the week!  However, it’s been so long since the last one that I should probably rename the feature to be “beetle of the season”, or “beetle of whenever”. Here’s a beautiful Sphaeroderus from North Carolina. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beetle of the Week | Tagged , | 3 Comments

And then there were five…

Posted on 13 September 2013 by David Maddison

Earlier this week I spent three lovely days in the Bay Area with Dave Kavanaugh, and on Monday we went to collecting on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais.  There, along Cataract Creek, we found a series of small “Bembidion curtulatum” … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Time is the coin of your life

Posted on 7 September 2013 by David Maddison

In my wallet I have a fortune from a fortune cookie which I opened long ago (I don’t remember where or when).  It says: Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have and only … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Miscellany, Musings | Tagged | 20 Comments

Bountiful Bembidion

Posted on 6 September 2013 by David Maddison

Bembidion can be quite abundant on the shores of bodies of water, such as along the Willamette River near Corvallis, Oregon: Below are two videos showing me turning over some rocks on shore shown above.  There are four species that … Continue reading →

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