Thanks Ian. Made my image the same width in pixels as yours (1024) and same dpi (72) but it seems to have come out much larger. We had maximum dimensions on the old website. What are the constraints on the new one, if any? Any idea why my image is so large on screen?
Apologies for the problems with photos, we are working on this and should be able to provide a solution soon.
The photo upload process has now been updated, and there is some revised guidance on the Forums help page.
Hopefully that will enable you to add photos more easily but let me know if there are any problems.
10% KOH is available from https://apcpure.com/product/potassium-hydroxide-10-solution/
for about £10 including postage.
Alternatively you should be able to buy pellets or flakes of KOH, and make up your own solution.
e.g. https://apcpure.com/product/sodium-hydroxide-pellets-99-9-acs/
Cheers
Tony
Can't see much detail in your photo, David. Can you re-load it, at a clearer resolution?
Tony
Many thanks Steven, another brilliant addition to your Flickr resources. I've just edited your post so that the link works better.
It can sometimes be a bit fiddly to get images working but there's some information here in case you haven't seen it already.
Thanks for the pointer Tony.
Despite not being able to get it to key out satisfactorily with Ball (2008) I ran it through Roháček (2006 & 2009). Those keys are not for the faint hearted! However, I managed to get it to run down to Anthomyza collini, the separation from A. anderssoni based on the fact that S8 reaches T8. Thank goodness I took the time to pull these segments out.
Thanks, Steven. I really look forward to the Muscidae albums as I struggle with most of them.
As Tony has suggested, I buy flakes online (eBay) and make up my own batches of 10% KOH. 111g of flakes to 888g of deionised water.
Very pleased to be able to report that I have had many emails regarding the article in the latest bulletin about my equipment. Most relate to pooters! I do still have several left for sale to interested Dipterists, but stock is going down quickly and I have little intention of further manufacture. I also have many other entomological 'essentials' that I have designed and fabricated, please email with any suggestions / requests for pictures etc.
Can't see enough detail to be certain, but the size and appearance suggest one of the Coenosia species to me (family Muscidae).
The pubescence of Psychodidae is prone to being rubbed off, so is of limited value, especially when trying to identify specimens in spirit. Also this is a female, and we might be able to get it to subfamily or tribe, but identifying psychodids to species almost always involves looking at the male genitalia. To see the detail, a higher magnification microscope is helpful, as is mounting the bits on a slide.
Boyd, has very kindly lent me a number of his marvelously fabricated items to trial and comment on. Here are my thoughts so far.
Pooter: I was an instant convert! I purchased a large barrel type – 150ml length barrel. It is marvelous. It’s easy to dismantle and clean and it’s very easy to see what you have captured inside the clear glass barrel. The suction is excellent and even quite large flies are readily pooted into the 6mm diameter inlet tube I chose.
Dissecting instruments: The brass handled dissecting needles are particularly effective. Compared to the micro pin stuck into a match stick or similar that most of us use, the brass handled needles make easy work of pulling apart genitalia. I have used them with Hilara and Lonchaeidae. I would imagine they are equally effective with other Diptera family genitalia. They are also very good to hold and a nice weight. I have needles in 0.5 and 1mm diameter and these easily cope with delicate work that I would usually use an “A”or “B” sized pin for. The main advantage of the brass handled needles is that they do not flex as a micropin would, and thus can easily tear apart or remove bits of unwanted tissue and fatty residues. When using micropins I have often found this taxing and frustrating work.
Carbon injector. Co2 can be used to immobilise or euthanise insects. A short blast will immobilise them very quickly – just a few seconds. Whereas a longer blast of Co2, followed by a long period left inside the container (sealed) will euthanise insects. I have heard from Dipterists that heads are less prone to collapsing so that specimens killed with Co2 are better preserved in shape. I have used an ancient Sparklets cork remover purchased off ebay to good effect, but it is quite bulky and weighty. Boyd has developed a neat little injector that takes Co2 canisters that can be ordered from Amazon. The injector is relatively small and light, so is easy to carry in the field inside an entomologists kit bag. Boyd has also fabricated fittings that allow the injector to be securely attached to the brass pooters described above. The injector works best with smaller barrel pooters. I found that a hefty amount of Co2 is needed to properly knock down flies inside my large 150ml barrel. The smallest flies recover most quickly, in as little as a few seconds, so experimentation is required to work out amounts of Co2 and length of exposure that will achieve a good “knock-down”time.
Thank you Nigel for writing up a nice report on some of the bits of kit I designed and made during lock down.
I have tried and tested these fabrications but second opinions are always helpful, Nigel has kindly agreed to 'test' these in the field and at home in his sanctuary!
I am currently working on Microscopy lighting for stereo and compound systems, an area neglected in my opinion my various suppliers of ento equipment.
I am, and have been very pleased to have received several emails from fellow Dipterists regarding pooters in particular but some very important ideas which have escaped my attention. Delighted to receive more!
Boyd Barr, Ballinluig, Scotland.
The overall shape and colour, and especially that strong spine on the fore femur point towards Anthomyzidae, and I think one of the Anthomyza gracilis group. There is a 1976 paper by Andersson which can be used to separate the species.