Focus Stacking

Blogger.com continues to thwart my attempts at putting larger pictures in my post so if you would like to see what the pictures actually look like just click on them.... (sorry)


I am nearing the end of my first semester in grad school so things have been a bit busy. However, I took a break from studying and writing papers to work on the blog at least a little. As promised I found and used a focus stacking software to produce some better pictures of Amphicrossus ciliatus and a couple of other cool beetles. A quick search of the blogosphere turned up some pretty high praise for a program called CombineZP. This is my favorite kind of program... its FREE! This software has a very simple interface but it does a great job of stacking photos and again it is FREE! The software really is amazingly easy to use. To produce these pictures I set my specimen up and focused at the very highest point and took a photograph. I then just turned the fine focus knob 1/4 turn and took another photograph until I had the lowest point on the specimen in focus. Next just batch load these into CombineZP and choose your method from the drop down menu. (I picked "All Methods") The program then putters away on your images for a minute or two eventually spitting out a finished product that you can save.


I decided to play a little more and produced the picture below of a tiger beetle. I have included small versions of each of the photos that were combined to create the stacked photo just so you can get an idea of how this works.


This will be my last post for a week or two. I have to finish up some presentations and projects so wish me luck!

Cool Nitidulidae

Amphicrossus ciliatus

I do not have the equipment or skills to take macro photos the way that so many of the nature bloggers do. However, the lab that I am in has a great microscope with a camera hooked up to it. So I have started experimenting with it and teaching myself how to use it. I haven't gotten a stacked image to work the way that it should but this beetle was too cool not to share.

When you look at him with a loop it looks like he has two little hard spikes on his elytra however under greater magnification you can see that it is actually a bundle of hairs. I can think of a lot of explanations for this morphology but I have not observed them alive so who knows. I am going to try and get a good stacked photo uploaded later this week until then cheers

An Inordinate Fondness #10

I'd like to thank Ted MacRae at Beetles in the Bush for letting me host this months issue of an Inordinate Fondness. His blog was one of the first that I began reading and it encouraged me to set up my own. I hope everyone enjoys this months collection of posts!

The Backyard Arthropod Project

Tim brings us what has to be one of the coolest blog post that I have seen in some time. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I am not going to tell you what he found. I will simply say that this post shows you that you can make some pretty cool discoveries if you are a detailed and careful observer.

6LEGS2MANY

Alison at 6LEGS2MANY gives us a great introduction to Scarabaeidae dung beetles. Her post has a bit of dung beetle lore as well as some nice photos from Welder Wildlife Refuge in South Texas.

Arizona: Beetles Bugs Birds and more

Margarethe at Arizona: Beetles Bugs Birds has a great post focusing on the Mesquite Twig Girdler. This beetle (Oncideres rhodosticta) has been found in huge numbers for the last several years through out the southwest. Her post explains some of the reasons for these mass occurrences.

Biodiversity in Focus Blog #1

Morgan Jackson has outdone himself with his entomological Jack-O-Lantern creations. Apparently this is a lab activity and their amazing creations included Diptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. My favorite is of course the scarab beetle picture above.

Biodiversity in Focus Blog #2

Morgan Jackson also brings us a great guest blog by Adam Brunke. Adam is a graduate student at the University of Guelph and is studying Staphylinidae (rove beetles). Adam is especially interested in introduced rove beetles and explains some of his current research interests and the importance of this huge family of beetles.

Fall to Climb

TGIQ at the blog Fall to Climb has posted some beautiful pictures of a leaf beetle this month. When you go to the blog make sure that you click on the individual pictures of the Calligrapha vicina. This will open the full size version and they are really amazing works of art.

Nature Closeups

Troy Bartlett at Nature Closeups managed to catch a shot of a fleeting myrmecophilous beetle. How you can get a well focused clear shot of one beetle among thousands of ants is beyond me. Thanks for sharing this great shot with all of us.

MObugs

A great article discussing the American Burying Beetle has been posted at MObugs. It includes a description of the life history and current status of the beetle in the wild, and an account of the authors trip behind the scenes of the Saint Louis Zoo's insectarium were a captive population is being maintained.

Up Close with Nature

I know that I love beetles but even if you didn't I think this beetle could make you stop and take notice. Thanks Kurt for sharing your shots of such an amazing creature with all of us.

Weird Bug Lady

Has moved to Arizona to pursue a PhD in entomology, and has posted some shots of Chrysina gloriosa and a Dynastes granti that were attracted to her light on her first night in Arizona. What a treat! Best of luck on your schooling!

The Sam Wells Bug Page

To read about the small click beetle Lacon rorulenta check out this post. You will also find some nice shots of the red fir grove and the surrounding landscape where the beetle was found.

Crooked Beak Workshop

Delbert La Rue ponders the identity of a beetle in the genus Polyphylla. This group had a number of species lumped in the late 1980s under the name Polyphylla diffracta. He doesn't come to a final decision, but at least he has a literature list so you can explore it more fully if you wish.

Natural History Museum - London

What could be better than a blog by a group of people caring for a collection of over 9,000,000 beetles. This blog is supposed to be a collaborative effort with posts by various curators and researchers describing their research and cool beetle stories. If they stick to the plan it could be a great new beetle blog.


No AIF issue would be complete without a post that featured tiger beetles. For that we go to THE tiger beetle blog Beetles in the Bush.

Beetles in the Bush

Ted gives us a post with some great pictures of an amazing beetle. The beetle Cicindela pulchra is a mixture of metallic reds and blues that are truly awesome. Ted's article as always includes a lot more than just pretty pictures. He also includes descriptions and pictures of the habitat, and larvae burrows.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of An Inordinate Fondness using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.