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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#71087
Dendroleon obsoletus

Dendroleon obsoletus
Parkwood, Durham County, North Carolina, USA
August 15, 2006
Size: 25 mm
Detail of wing venation. The large cells across the top row are each about 0.7 mm (700 microns) across, making the magnification on-screen 40-50X or so.
I'll put this in as a thumbnail for the order neuroptera.

Images of this individual: tag all
Dendroleon obsoletus Dendroleon obsoletus Dendroleon obsoletus Dendroleon obsoletus Dendroleon obsoletus

#71087 Identification (confirmed) -- Dendroleon obsoletus
Yes, this is the antlion Dendroleon obsoletus (Say, 1839).

Two Questions....
1. Are we actually seeing the veins and "hairs" of the underwing through the upperwing?

2. Would it be possible for you to compute and post the number of magnifications for each of these three photos?

 
Veins, scale
Yes, I should have added another photo for context, not completely clear here. This is the dorsal surface of the left forewing folded against the abdomen, I believe, and we are looking through that to see some of the left hindwing.

The scale on-screen is going to vary with your monitor settings, specifically, the pitch, measured in pixels per inch, usually called "dots per inch". Since the antlion died, and I still have the specimen, I'll go back and measure some things visible in the detail shots. (The body length was 25 mm, so that will give you an idea.) The antennae are about 6 mm long, and the square cells in the wing are tiny--some quick on-screen measurements give about 0.7 millimeter across, I believe. On my screen, the magnification is on the order of 40X for this photo of the wing venation.

Again, I'll go back and make some careful measurements, since I have the specimen. I think I'll add a context shot as well.

Amazing details, Patrick!
Seems like a lot of your recent posts are really aimed at the bug connoisseurs. Very nice.