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Photo#884029
minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina

minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina
Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA
January 13, 2014
Size: <1 mm
Very common. Dense populations on wooden fences and on walls above leaf litter/shrubs.


Images of this individual: tag all
minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina minute orange symphypleona - Katiannina

Moved

Katiannina sp.
Given the lateral 'winged' abdominal extensions on the 5th abdominal segment.

 
Sminthurinus henshawi?
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No, IMHO, a species of Katiannini.
Could be a new species. The only species described from Northern America = Katiannina macgillivrayi. Which is quite a colourfull species. Yours is dull yellow. So could be new...

 
dull color
The dullness may be a result of bad lighting. The specimens I found are actually a vibrant orange. They are quite common along a fence in my back yard. It might take a few days, but I could get access to a microscope. Any advice on how to photograph them? Ways of killing without damage and so fourth?

 
Compare your specimens with pics of...
Katiannina macgillivrayi. Do they have reddish eyes? Photograph them in dorsal and lateral aspect. For macroshots, you need a 5x magnification to properly idy the specimens. You need to follow a course to make proper slide preparations of specimens for microscopic inspection. Contact your local univ. You can also collect some specimens and preserve them in denaturated ethanol (min. 70%). And send them to Dr Snider:
http://www.zoology.msu.edu/all-faculty/richard-j-snider.html

 
New Pictures
I had something of a scare when the weather changed because population disappeared before I could get a specimen. Anyway, now they're back and here are the pictures.
I got access to a multi focus scope at a nearby university (this is why the antennae are a little translucent). For future reference—How do you recommend killing the specimens? We froze them but they became damaged after we took the first few shots. Would using alcohol damage them?
Also, do I need to send specimen's to Dr Snider?

 
You should not try to kill them
but photograph them alive.
You can always send in denaturated ethanol 70-90% preserved specimens to Dr Snider for proper identification.

 
second try
Well, it is February again and the population has returned. I sent some specimens to Dr. Snider.

 
Awaiting eagerly his findings :-)

 
So am I!
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Just for future reference...
...there was no need to delete and repost. Images can simply be tagged and moved. Information here.

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