Clearing and staining small vertebrates for demonstrating ossification of the skeletal system using the KOH and glycerine clearing method.

Preparing articulated skeletons of small vertebrates is extremely difficult due to the presence of vast amounts of cartilage and/or the extremely small size of skeletal components. Clearing the tissues surrounding small skeletons and staining the bones in toto reveals the skeletal system without the risk of displacing the bony components. The specimens are first fixed and bleached which renders the tissues preserved and transparent. These specimens may then be exposed to alizarin red S which stains bone a pink to red colour making them visible through the transparent soft tissues. Toluidine blue may also be used to stain cartilage a blue colour. The Spalteholz staining method is cited, though the focus will be on the KOH and glycerine clearing method for macroscopic observation.

A review of prey choice in bembicine sand wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) / Revisão sobre a escolha de presa por vespas bembicineas (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

As presas de 132 espécies de vespas Bembicini (Hymenoptera) que foram estudadas são revisadas. Cerca de três quartos das espécies predam Diptera e acredita-se que a predação de moscas é um evento ancestral no grupo. Onze espécies predam, além de Diptera, ocasionalmente ou regularmente espécies de Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata e/ou Homoptera. Entretanto, outras 21 espécies pertencentes a cinco gêneros predam espécies das cinco ordens mencionadas, mas não predam Diptera. Especula-se que esse fato represente uma progressão evolucionária, quando populações de vespídeos foram expostas à escassez de dípteros no passado e foram obrigadas a ampliar o foco incluindo presas pertencentes a outros grupos de insetos voadores. Esse comportamento inicialmente aprendido foi revigorado geneticamente ao longo do tempo evolucionário para produzir a radiação atual no número de presas dentro do grupo.

The prey of 132 species of Bembicini (Hymenoptera) that have been studied is reviewed. About three quarters of the species prey on Diptera, and it is believed that fly predation is ancestral in the group. Eleven species make occasional or regular use of other insects as prey in addition to Diptera (Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, and/or Homoptera), while 21 species of five genera prey on insects of these same five groups with no use of Diptera. It is hypothesized that this represents an evolutionary progression, whereby populations have experienced shortages of dipterous prey in the past and have broadened their sensory focusing to include other groups of flying insects. Behavior initially learned has, over time, been reinforced genetically to produce the currently observed radiation in prey choice within the group.