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, I suspect it has “silver spots” (granulate patches of microsculpture), and is thus a member of Bembidion subgenus Bracteon. And, because of the lack of “mirrors” (dark, smooth patches on the elytra), and the wide prothorax, it is likely Bembidion (Bracteon) balli, named by Carl Lindroth after my mentor George Ball. Happy Birthday, George!
-
Recent Posts
Archives
- February 2021
- April 2020
- November 2019
- May 2019
- January 2019
- September 2017
- December 2016
- November 2015
- August 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- August 2014
- June 2014
- February 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
Categories
- Academia
- Art & Science
- Beetle of the Week
- Collecting Site of the Day
- Fieldwork
- fun stuff
- Language
- Mesquite
- Miscellany
- Morphological Techniques
- Musings
- Public Engagement & Citizen Science
- Revising Bembidiina
- Scientific Illustrations
- Software Development
- Taxonomic Process
- Tree of Life
- Uncategorized
- Z499 (Discovering Insect Species)
- 3D-printing
- aedeagus
- art
- Asaphidion
- Bembidiina
- Bembidion
- birthdays
- Carabidae
- carabid beetle
- carrots
- citations
- Cnemalobini
- collectors
- colored pencils
- credit
- diversity
- DNA
- DNA taxonomy
- drawings
- flight
- genitalia
- government shutdown
- Harpalinae
- heads
- ink
- labels
- lectotype
- Lindrochthus
- Lindroth
- Liocosmius
- Lionepha
- local
- macrophotography
- microsculpture
- mirrored development
- morphological structures
- morphology
- Mount Tamalpais
- museum
- museum specimens
- new species
- nomenclature
- Ocydromus
- patterns
- Peryphus
- phylogenetics
- phylogeny
- physics
- Plataphus
- potato chips
- relatedness
- revisions
- riparian
- rove beetle
- Saint Helena
- sandy shore
- scalar boson
- science
- Scientific Illustrations
- scientific process
- Sierra Nevada
- software
- species delimitation
- Sphaeroderus
- Staphylinidae
- stridulate
- talus
- taxonomy
- time management
- Trechonepha
- Trepanedoris
- type specimens
- undescribed species
- USNM
- wickhami
David Maddison
Whoa, so even when I was four I knew about the six legs, three main body parts, and antennae in front of the eyes? I really drew that?
Yup. You drew that 2 weeks before your 4th birthday! And – amazingly – you had the legs attached to the correct bits!
I feel like I knew more then than I did like ten years later
This is so amazing – thanks for posting this, David!
You are most welcome, Dru! There will be another one sometime in the future!
Pingback: (Almost) my favorite phylogeny | The Subulate Palpomere