Mycetophagidae, elytra - Mycetophagus punctatus

the elytra appear to have been preserved just fine here

anyway, i would expect them to look exactly like that in a living specimen. various degrees of discoloration can be expected in mounted beetles exposed to excessive humidity: paler areas/parts get darker.
(not the case here, though. colors look perfectly natural.)

… v belov, 23 January, 2012 - 7:32am

Thanks

What I meant was - in looking at the beetles in the wild (alive) the elytra look dark color but when you shine light through them they are acutally translucent not dark.

… MJ Hatfield, 23 January, 2012 - 7:55am

the pale areas usually have this hyalinous, translucent quality

unless darkly pigmented or thick, the resting elytra usually let you see through in both live and dry-preserved specimens. this is true for smaller beetles (say, up to 6-8 mm):

in all of these examples the beetles are fully colored, yet you can see the folded hindwing and often its major veins through the pale integument
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--as the size increases, however, the integument tends to get thicker and non-transparent even in barely pigmented ones
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on the other hand, softer elytra may well be semitranslucent in rather large beetles, too:

...especially in those short-lived nocturnal flyers of arid habitats:

they are built like one-way, disposable kamikaze aircraft: cheap, thin, unpainted plywood --although i tried to use examples where well-pigmented darker areas prove that the specimen is not teneral

… v belov, 23 January, 2012 - 1:13pm

WOW

My oh my. I knew that elytra are often stunning but honestly, I had never before seen them open with the light shining through.

Two things come to mind:
How could I have never noticed! (OK, it took 1/2 a century to discover insects)
Can your post be incorporated into the beetles page?

… MJ Hatfield, 24 January, 2012 - 12:19pm