Download high resolution image here.
Any help in identifying this insect is appreciated.
I collected this specimen on Tree Spring Trl. 147, 8500 ft,
Sandia Crest 7.5’ quadrangle in the
Sandia Mountains, Bernalillo Co, NM from a Berlese funnel loaded with forest floor detritus collected from under and around a rotting log in a conifer forest.
I originally misidentified it as Hymenoptera from its four membranous wings and apparent small downward pointed stinger visible in the
lateral closeup. The strongly sculpted thorax and short wrinkly abdomen make its appearance very un-wasplike, though. The abdomen's appearance is as it was when trapped in alcohol. It was treated with HMDS
(1) to prevent shrivel from dessication.
This image is from a
CombineZP processed stack of 41 images with a 28 micron step taken with a
Nikon CFN Plan 4X 0.13 NA microscope objective + adapter/extension tube + Nikon D300 camera.