Meet the beetle

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Here's the latest specimen from my entomological illustration class, a Japanese Beetle. Who knew they had little white furry patches on their sides? Not me, till I looked at them through a great little microscope very generously donated to me. It's a little shopworn but does the job of revealing a world that was not really meant to be seen by humans, what with our big clunky eyes and all. And now it seems the lowly Dung Beetle, greatly underestimated it seems, not only probably already checked out the pretty white fur on the Japanese Beetle, but also navigates by the Milky Way, which I usually can't see either! (ok, I'll blame light polution for that one). So, he eats dung—it's probably delicious. Shows how much we know!

Oh entomology, where is thy sting?

So this is my first attempt at entomological illustration, and I think I'm hooked. I'm just debating on whether I should invest in a basic compound dissecting microscope. It's awfully tempting, since it would open up a whole new world of visual exploration. But on the other hand I can't keep up with what I can already see! I guess I'll try a few more specimens and see how it goes....

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This little study is one I did years ago, and even after my microscopic study of the hornet, I think it stands up pretty well. Well, not exactly stands, I didn't know the technique of relaxing and pinning the specimen back then, but he curls up nicely anyway...

I'm starting to organize the art team for this year's Bioblitz on Jamestown, where there will be tons of creepy crawly things to draw. Maybe I can bum some surplus bugs to bring home and draw. If not, my windowsill is a good place to find insects who have met their maker.

The girl who drew the hornet specimen

Just when I think I know what a hornet looks like, I get a look through a fancy compound microscope and a whole new world opens up. I get to see the level of detail that this hornet would have seen when he woke up and stumbled to the bathroom to face his 10x mirror. He probably bemoaned his scraggly antennas and sagging mandibles, but I think he's beautiful. Anyway, this is my drawing from my Entomological Illustration Class that I'm taking at RISD. Tomorrow I get to finish him in color. 

 

This class is so much fun that I wish I had tried to make a living doing scientific illustration. It seems a bit late now to try to make an inroad into what I'm sure is a very competitive field, but it would be fun to do a bit of freelance if I get any good.  My dad was an incredible jewelry renderer, back when catalogs were full of pen and ink and painted illustrations of tie tacs and earrings. (I'll post some of his work one of these days)  If I have near his talent in rendering bugs, I'll do alright...if the chip is off the old block, and they tell me it is.

Of course I'd have to learn about all the bug parts and their latin names, but that would be the fun of it. Just think how smart I'll sound, talking in a language no one understands. Sort of like explaining computer code. Now, if I can only get my hands on one of those microscopes.