Author Archives: David Maddison

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

Save Olea europaea

Posted on 3 March 2013 by David Maddison

Every once in a while I will post something that tickles me, even if it has nothing to do with beetles, scientific illustration, systematics in general, or academia.  Today’s the first of these posts. I came across a sign in … Continue reading →

Posted in fun stuff | 2 Comments