The Sculpted Tree Ant (Cataulacus ebrardi) is commonly found in the Old World tropics, living in the canopy of trees. They nest in twig cavities and use their heavily armored heads to block the nest entrance. These ants exhibit directed gliding behavior: if falling from the tree they can orient themselves back to the trunk instead of getting lost on the ground. This model was created as an interactive model to serve as online scientific reference.

This animation of a micro-moth genitalia featured in a lecture at a scientific conference. The genitalia of this species in the Tineidae family is unique for its asymmetry and how different pieces combine. Genitalia are important identifying structures in insects— often species can only be told apart by analyzing the structural differences in the reproductive organs.

This image scanning electron microscope image was improved and colorized to be part of the scientific photography exhibit Image Lab, at the Belém Cultural Center (Lisbon, Portugal.) From the exhibit label: “This is Wockia chewbacca, the caterpillar of a Mexican micro-moth named after the Star Wars character. The unusual body projections and hairs had never been seen before and the studies conducted at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History found no explanation for their existence.”

This illustration of the cicada Graminitigrina bowensis was done during an internship at the Queensland Museum (Brisbane, Australia) with illustrator Geoff Thompson and entomologist A. Ewart. It is part of the scientific article Ewart, A. & Marques, D., “A new genus of grass cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) from Queensland, with descriptions of their songs” Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 52(2): 149–202, Brisbane, 2008.

Dorsal and ventral views of the Rose Chafer beetle (Cetonia aurata)

Comparison of the head of the female (above) and male Eastern Hercules beetle (Dynastes tityus)