Micro insects

I haven't been feeling up to writing much lately. Most of my free time has been occupied with working on an academic project in meta-genomics. I'm aiming for this to be published in a science journal, so I won't be discussing the details of it here (for now). I'm also experiencing some anxiety surrounding what my job currently is, where it is going, and where I want it to go.

All together, this is leading to a pretty solid writer's block. I've got a collection of interesting topics that I haven't managed to pull together into full posts, so I'll probably be posting a few of these over the next several weeks. Today, I want to point you towards some readings about extremely, bizarrely, tiny insects.



Micro-wasp with aneucleate nerves

• http://neurodojo.blogspot.com/2011/11/non-nuclear-nano-neurons.html

Micro beetle.

• http://link.springer.com/article/10.1134%2FS0013873808010041

Features found in both micro-insects.

1. Reduced number of neurons, but a relatively larger nervous system.
2. Reduction in number of organ parts. Reduction in Malpigian tubules, spicules, etc.

References:

1. Polilov, A. (2008). Anatomy of the smallest coleoptera, featherwing beetles of the tribe nanosellini (Coleoptera, Ptiliidae), and limits of insect miniaturization. Entomological Review 88:26-33.
2. Polilov, A. (2011). The smallest insects evolve anucleate neurons. Arthropod Structure & Development In press. doi:10.1016.j.asd.2011.09.001
3. Niven, J. E., and S. M. Farris (2012). Miniaturization of Nervous Systems and Neurons. Current Biology 22:R323-R329.