Author Archives: David Maddison

A Very Good Day of Collecting

Posted on 8 February 2013 by David Maddison

We arrived at the campsite near the shores of Lago Puelo (above) in the mountains of Argentina late at night.  It had been a long day of collecting, and we were all rather tired.  There was a roaring river nearby … Continue reading →

Posted in Collecting Site of the Day | 2 Comments

Wicked and confused Bembidion

Posted on 6 February 2013 by David Maddison

There are over 1200 known species of Bembidion.  Many of them are hard to tell apart.  They are small beetles.  Maybe for this reason some taxonomists have struggled with them, and their frustration occasionally is expressed when they name new … Continue reading →

Posted in Taxonomic Process | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Delightful DNA

Posted on 6 February 2013 by David Maddison

Well, it looks as if Bembidion (Plataphus) curtulatum is at least three species.  The above bits of DNA show parts of 28S ribosomal DNA.  Of the 950 bases that were sequenced, this shows only those sites that differ from one … Continue reading →

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

3D or not to 3D?

Posted on 6 February 2013 by David Maddison

The male genitalia of Bembidion are small and partly transparent, with complex, multiple layers. This makes them hard to photograph, and hard to illustrate.  It’s especially hard to give a sense of the three dimensional structure.  I have been exploring … Continue reading →

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BotW: Bembidion confusum

Posted on 5 February 2013 by David Maddison

The Beetle of the Day today is Bembidion confusum.  This is a common species on sandy river and pond shores east of the Rockies in North America.  It’s the species whose head appears on the “Subulate Palpomere” sign.

Posted in Beetle of the Week | Tagged | 2 Comments

Naming species and the danger of good intentions

Posted on 3 February 2013 by David Maddison

It can be a bit of a challenge to come up with a meaningful name for a new beetle. I’m working on a paper or two in which I will be describing several new species of Bembidiina from North America.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Arroyo Queñi in Argentina

Posted on 3 February 2013 by David Maddison

I visited this spot in Argentina in 2007; the wonderfully clear river had, along its rocky banks, some very cool carabids.  Four species were very common here:  a large, black, undescribed species of Bembidion (more on that later), a species … Continue reading →

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A live revision

Posted on 1 February 2013 by David Maddison

Over the course of the next three years, some of us (me, John Sproul, and others) in the Maddison Lab will be “revising” the Bembidiina of North America.  This means we will be going into the field in the USA … Continue reading →

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Blowing Stumps with Dynamite

Posted on 1 February 2013 by David Maddison

I happened upon a lovely paper by George Roberts in the Bulletin of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station of the State University, published in June 1911.  The paper has the very promising title “Blowing Stumps with Dynamite”, and it does … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Illustrations | 4 Comments

BotW: A brilliant Bembidion

Posted on 1 February 2013 by David Maddison

This is a lovely but unnamed Bembidion from Arizona and New Mexico, first found by George Ball in the 1960s. I lives under willows on the banks of rivers. It is much easier to find at night (using a headlamp) … Continue reading →

Posted in Beetle of the Week | Tagged | 3 Comments