On the last stop for the 2012 European museum tour, Julio Rivera images type specimens in Madrid. The system held up great after some serious transit and constant use.

Using the system in Madrid

The last day at the MNHN for Julio Rivera before he continues on to Madrid, Spain to examine more types. Fortunately, Julio overlapped at the MNHN with a visit by Henrique Rodrigues from Sao Paulo. Henrique is working on Stagmatopterinae and is on a museum tour to examine types and additional holdings from European collections.
Frank Wieland and Gavin Svenson returned home after their work at the museum in Paris concluded.
Henrique Rodrigues (left), Roger Roy (center), and Julio Rivera (right)

After a day of collections work we pose for a group picture in front of the Entomology building.
From left to right: Julio Rivera, Roger Roy, Gavin Svenson, and Frank Wieland

Work has begun at the Museum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Frank Wieland has come in from Goettingen with Julio Rivera and Gavin Svenson arriving after 10 days at the British Museum. Monday we met Roger Roy and began working in the collection, imaging type specimens, and planning aspects of the revision of higher level relationships.

Frank, Roger, and Julio working on the collection

Frank and Roger discussing post-embryonic development of spines on the foreleg

Imaging work continues

Gavin and Roger looking at some specimens

Martin was in for another day of mantis work while we continue to image types.

Gavin inspecting Martin’s amber fossil of a Liturgusa (looks to be new!)

Martin looking over loans destined to travel with Gavin and Julio.

Julio imaging types sent from Oxford.

We continue to image types at the British Museum. We are nearly through all primary targeted taxa and will be able to move on to secondary targets for future work and collaborator requests. Working in the Darwin Center has had a few problems including some vibration issues causing blurring in our final composite images. We solved the problem by moving to another location, but we are suppose to wear lab coats in this particular spot. Oh well…

Julio working away on the Neotropical taxa-

Gavin working away on the Flower Mantis types-

A visit to Down House.

Work begins at the British Museum of Natural History to image the type specimens of mantises held in the collection. Target taxa from the Neotropics and the Flower mantises are first up. Imaging begins with the Banks collection with a few types of Fabricius.

Standing over the drawer are Gavin Svenson (left), Martin Stiewe (center left), George Beccaloni (center right), and Julio Rivera (right).

After finishing up work in Hamburg with Frank and Kai, Julio spent a week in Berlin to image types and examine specimens in their extensive mantis collection. He has passed through the collection in Vienna and is now working on Saussure types in Geneva. After a week in Geneva he will meet up with Frank and Gavin in London.