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Photo#710057
Axinopalpus fusciceps LeConte - Axinopalpus fusciceps

Axinopalpus fusciceps LeConte - Axinopalpus fusciceps
Dick Nichols District Park, sw. Austin, Travis County, Texas, USA
September 28, 2012
Det. P. W. Messer, 2013 (based on microscopic examination of this specimen coll'ed on or about 28-IX-2012)

coll'ed at UV lights

spmn in the PWMC collection, Milwaukee, WI

Moved
Moved from Tachys.

Axinopalpus fusciceps LeConte, 1851
based on my microscopic examination of this specimen which is now a photo-voucher in the P.W.Messer collection. Thanks Mike.

A western "Axinopalpus" (alluding to hatchet-shaped apex of labial palp) that is colored mostly yellowish except for contrasting dark head, hence "fusciceps".

 
Addendum:
Actually there was no labelled "Sept 28" wet material that I received from Mike, but there was one "Sept 30" specimen of this species taken by Mike from the same location. Therefore, I deem the status to be "quasi-photo-voucher" for this type of specimen-photo association.

 
This photo is date/time stamped: 9/29/2012 4:53 PM
Not sure why it's in vial labeled "Sept 30" but I will have to humbly ask you to please allow for a calendar day (or two) leeway between vial label and BugGuide label. When I'm collecting, photographing, and posting photos daily and nightly for days on end, date issues can arise.
I bulk sample the material I send to TAMU for about a week at a stretch, whereas I tried to segregate your material into separate vials each day to minimize this exact situation. But as I said, issues can arise, particularly when collecting and shooting past midnight which frequently happened. I sometimes shoot material 24 or even 36 hrs after I collected it, due to a build up in backlog. I hope you can understand.
Per the date stamp on this image, this spmn should have been coll'ed the night of Sept 28-29 or possibly the night of 27-28.
In (hopefully rare) instances of conflict betw. BG photo date and vial date, I suggest putting the vial date on the specimen label to keep things relatively straight forward on your end, even though in this instance, "Sept 30" appears to be, shall I say, "imprecise"(!)...

 
boy can i feel your pain
i remember all too well those sleepless weeks sorting out and labeling tens of thousands of specimens, or gallons of pitfall soup after a long field season, to be sent away to an army of specialists...
it's exhausting and requires superconcentration; you can't afford mixing things up, so you can't afford a break, or a nap, or a drink -- but you're not going to survive otherwise, that kind of job.
the sensation of discovery, plus the hope to get it all eventually ID'd, is what keeps you afloat and makes it all worthwhile

 
Mike, Thank you
for relating the rather interesting ordeals and inherent pitfalls of a ferocious field collector that I understand you are. I am not at all surprised about the date issues given your circumstances. My addendum note was not intended to be a criticism of your record keeping, but rather a matter of fact statement that the definition of exact one-to-one photo-vouchering was not satisfied. Having said that, I don't doubt the species identity which, after all, is the most important issue to you and BugGuide readers. I was really thrilled to add this new species to my reference collection. Looking forward.

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