Cooley Spruce Gall Adelgid, Ink on Vellum

Cooley Spruce Gall Adelgid; Adelges cooleyi

This begins a series of new illustrations that are going to be included in my masters project. The project is a field guide for common insect pests of ornamental trees in NJ. Each pest will have either an illustration or a photograph to represent them. I would like this project to be done by this summer, so obviously if I don't have photographs yet, I will likely need to illustrate it. This is just the first 10, there will be many more to follow.

Eastern Spruce Gall Adelgid, Ink on Vellum

Eastern Spruce Gall Adelgid; Adelges abietis

Pine Leaf Aphid, Ink on Vellum

Pine Leaf Aphid; Pineus pinifoliae

White Pine Aphid, Ink on Vellum

White Pine Aphid; Cinara strobi

Southern Pine Beetle, Ink on Vellum

Southern Pine Beetle; Dendroctonus frontalis

Eastern Pine Shoot Borer, Ink on Vellum

Eastern Pine Shoot Borer; Eucosma gloriola

Spruce Budworm, Ink on Vellum

Spruce Budworm; Choristoneura fumiferana

Hemlock Looper, Ink on Vellum

Hemlock Looper; Lambdina fiscellaria

Taxus Mealybug, Ink on Vellum

Taxus Mealybug; Dysmicoccus wistariae

Pine Tussock Moth, Ink on Vellum

Pine Tussock Moth; Dasychira pinicola

Box #1 Pinned Specimens

Box includes: Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Mantodea, Ephemeroptera, Hymenoptera, and Phasmida. Among my favorite additions here are the giant robber fly (bottom left), the giant water bug (center left), and the 3 native Siricid wasps from the 06 NJDA-CAPS trapping program (bottom left-center). Many of these specimens came from these traps and were a great help to me.

Box #2 Pinned Specimens

Box Includes: Odonata, Neuroptera, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Isoptera. The giant (2.5") longhorned-root borer in center is courtesy of my niece Erin... she is more courageous than I am! And the iridescent 'caterpillar hunter' just beneath the root borer is courtesy of my other nieces Kaityln and Faith. Thanks Girls!

Box #3 Vial Specimens

These are assorted scale species, soft bodied insects, larvae, and minute insects that should otherwise be mounted onto slides. All vials are 70% ethyl grain alcohol and can be removed from the box via 4 wooden trays.

Finished Collection - Insect ID & Natural History

After 2 years of collecting and identifying insects, the project is over. Requirements included: 15 orders, 100 families, 5 Male/Female pairs, and 60 morphospecies (among other things). The finished collection exceeded these requirements with: 21 orders, 113 families and 87 morphospecies for a total of 200 specimens. This collection would not have been nearly as comprehensive or rewarding if not for the contributions from friends, family, and co-workers... Thank you, everyone!

Monarch Lifecycle: Colored Pencil on Bristol Board

This is my final project. The assignment was to be creative, while using techniques learned throughout the course. I decided to use the colored pencils after enjoying my sphinx moth illustration so much. The concept for this illustration was to represent the various stages of a monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant, something Meagan and I get to observe in our garden each summer. The caterpillars were especially fun to illustrate!

Specimen 2: Pen and Ink on Mylar Matte Acetate

This took an entire Saturday to stipple but it was worth it. I have multiple diameter pens, but I find that simply adding more of the smallest diameter stipple looks the best. This technique seems better suited for the beetle than the sphinx.

Specimen 1: Colored Pencil on Bristol Board

First time using color. I'm looking forward to using this technique on my final project. My favorite part was scratching-off (with an exacto blade) the pencil on the thorax to make the highlights on the hair. This was really fun.

Specimen 2: Carbon Dust on Matte Acetate

Here the bessbug was painted via carbon dust. The dust results in such a smooth finish that it was better suited for the beetle skin than the scales of the sphinx. The contours of the mouth and face are especially neat!

Specimen 2: Ink on Clayboard

Bessbug on clayboard. The Ink is painted on and then scratched away using an exacto knife. It's kind-of like the reverse of pencil shading. It was tough to get used-to.

Specimen 2: Pencil on Vellum

Specimen 2: Bessbug illustrated in pencil (on vellum).