Alyssa Suzumura Natural Science Illustration @alsuzumura - Tumblr Blog

2 paintings of beach-dwelling Cercyon species - ink, watercolor, gouache

I made these two paintings while I was sick with the flu and couldn’t go into the lab to work on my research project. Cercyon is a genus of Hydrophilid beetles that lives in moist material such as rotting plants, dung, and algae. I am currently studying the species that live in washed up kelp on Pacific Ocean beaches. The first painting shows adults and larvae on Fucus, Zostera, Sargassum, and two types of Ulva.

#entomology #insect systematics #scientific illustration #natural history #natural science illustration

Cordyceps fungi on insect hosts - Ink, watercolor, and gouache

I painted the first two after seeing specimens in the National Museum of Science and Technology in Tokyo and the third from reference photos of a local species in the Pacific Northwest. I enjoy how these fungi are so visually diverse in the shapes of the fungi itself as well as their hosts.

Hister Beetle - Watercolor and gouache

I collected this beetle from under a dead stole. It looked dry but when we flipped it over, it was full of maggots and several types of beetles. While there were also carrion beetles feeding on the corpse itself, these hister beetles prefer to munch on the maggots living inside it.

Ptinella sp. - Ink, watercolor, and gouache

The family, Ptilidae contains some of the smallest beetles. They are fairly common but often overlooked because with a length of 0.3-4mm, they only look like specks to the untrained eye.

Sketches

Aulonothroscus sp. - ink, watercolor, and gouache

I love false click beetles because their legs fit into grooves in the body, making them into a compact bullet shape. The presence of defined grooves on the thorax and/or abdomen can be used to identify them to genus.

Sketches