Emily: I received a Google Scholar alert for an article by Cho et al. (2016) and found the title to be particularly intriguing. I am always interested in how museum specimens are preserved/utilized for research, and this study describes a protocol that could be effective in maintaining vouchered specimens as well as using them for DNA in many collections. I found the idea of storing Lepidoptera in a Whirl Pack for DNA, with the vouchered remainder of the specimen laminated to be a very interesting idea. Laminated wings of butterflies and moths seem to be analogous to having microscope slides of smaller specimens. It is certainly a space-efficient idea, if not accessible for examining the specimen in its entirety after the lamination. With increasing use of collections for molecular work, the development of a standard for the examined specimens will become increasingly important.
Carolyn: This week I spent some time with Chapman’s The Insects: Structure and Function, 4th edition. This book offers a very thorough overview of insect anatomy, exploring both morphology and physiology, and is a must-read for anyone interested in studying insects from the inside-out. I used this book to brush up on my knowledge of insect glands and abdomen morphology in preparation for the work I am doing on investigating the semitransparent patches in Ceraphronoidea.
Andy: I spent some time chasing down references about the stones on our property (again!) and looking for places in Pennsylvania to find arthropod fossils. A friend tipped me off to this great map, PaGEODE, available through the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and I’ve been obsessively scrolling it. Looks like my rocks are from the Reedsville Formation, rather than Juniata (see my last post about these rocks), but the age is similar. Can one find arthropod fossils in Reedsville rocks? Lehman and Pope (1989) refer to some great trilobites that are apparently from the Reedsville Formation, at Swatara Gap. (Note: I am not convinced this is still understood to be part of the Reedsville Formation.) I’ll have to scout the site as a possible ENT 432 field trip! My quest to find Pennsylvania arthropod fossils continues …
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