Note: Mr. Farrall S. Smith kindly granted permission to use his photomicrographs at my web site and provided the following information regarding his techniques:

"Rather than microscopically examining cleaned, dry material, I place the material in a glass Petri dish and cover the material with clean water. In the wetted state, color & detail really jump out. I make two visual passes over the material; once with transmitted lightup from the bottom (best for internal detail of the fossil) and once with reflected light from above (best for external detail and coloration). This technique makes for sharp & detailed micro-photographs."

Three different views of the same fossil adult female midge dissolved out of a calcareous concretion with diluted acid by Farrall S. Smith--who graciously provided me with images of his finds for use at my web site. Specimen in actual size is approximately 3 millimeters long (about an eighth of an inch). It's called scientifically Dasyhelea australis antiqua and is most closely related to the modern Dasyhelea australis australis, now living on the islands of Islas Juan Fernandez, about 400 miles west of Santiago, Chile.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Two views of the same insect specimen photographed with different lighting perspectives. This is a fossil adult male midge, called scientifically Dasyhelea australis antiqua. It was dissolved free, in three-dimensional form, from a calcium carbonate concretion collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation in Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California by Farrall S. Smith. In actual dimension, the specimen is about three millimeters long (eighth of an inch).

Adult midges of the genus Dasyhelea, by the way, while often referred to as "biting midges," do not actually suck the blood of animals. They thrive by ingesting the nectar from flowers.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

A fossil spider, called scientifically Argenna fossilis, dissolved out of a calcium carbonate concretion collected by Mr. Farrall S. Smith from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation, Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen in actual size is around 1.5 millimeters (slightly less than a twelveth of an inch) long. Its closest living relatives have been identified only in Europe.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

This is one of the co-dominants of the Barstow Formation fossil fauna--a larval water beetle, called scientifically Shistomerus californense. Mr. Farrall S. Smith dissolved it out of a calcium carbonate concretion he collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation in Fossil Insect Canyon. Specimen is probably around 5 millimeters long (roughly a fifth of an inch).

This particular species of predacious water beetle most closely resembles the living Deronectes striatellus, which is widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Different views of the same specimen--a larval water beetle, called scientifically Shistomerus californense that Mr. Farrall S. Smith dissolved out of a calcareous concretion he collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation in Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen is about 6 millimeters long.

This particular species of predacious water beetle most closely resembles the living Deronectes striatellus, which is widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

The head of a larval water beetle, called scientifically Shistomerus californense, Mr. Farrall S. Smith dissolved out of a calcium carbonate concretion he collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation, Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen is likely no more than one or two millimeters long (no more than a twelveth of an inch).

This particular species of predacious water beetle most closely resembles the living Deronectes striatellus, which is widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Here's a larval water mite (only six of the eight legs visible), called scientifically Protoarrenurus convergens that Mr. Farrall S. Smith dissolved out of a calcareous concretion he collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation in Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen is likely no longer than 250 microns (one quarter of a millimeter, or around one one-hundredth of an inch). Such larval water mites are parasitic and must attach themselves to a host in order to develop to an adult stage. Protoarrenurus convergens, the Barstow fossil variety, very much resembles the living genus of water mites Arrenurus, which has a world-wide distribution.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Two views of the same midge insect pupa, called scientifically Dasyhelea australis antiqua, dissolved out of a calcareous concretion by Mr. Farrall S. Smith from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation, Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen is likely around 6 millimeters long (a quarter of an inch).

Adult midges of the genus Dasyhelea, by the way, while often referred to as "biting midges," do not actually suck the blood of animals. They thrive by ingesting the nectar from flowers.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

View of the head and partial thorax of a larval water beetle, called scientifically Shistomerus californense, Mr. Farrall S. Smith dissolved out of a calcium carbonate concretion he collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation, Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California. Specimen is likely around or three millimeters long (third of an inch). It is preserved as a non-silicified, organic replacement of as yet unestablished chemical composition, having been trapped in a Barstow concretion along with globules of petroleum.

This particular species of predacious water beetle most closely resembles the living Deronectes striatellus, which is widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Two views of the same insect specimen. This is a fossil adult female midge, called scientifically Dasyhelea australis antiqua. It was dissolved free, in three-dimensional form, from a calcium carbonate concretion collected from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation in Fossil Insect Canyon, Mojave Desert, California by Farrall S. Smith. In actual dimension, the specimen is about three millimeters long (eighth of an inch). It is preserved as a non-silicified, organic replacement of as yet unestablished chemical composition, having been trapped in a Barstow concretion along with globules of petroleum.

Adult midges of the genus Dasyhelea, by the way, while often referred to as "biting midges," do not actually suck the blood of animals. They thrive by ingesting the nectar from flowers.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Two different views of the same fossil adult female midge dissolved out of a calcareous concretion with diluted acid by Farrall S. Smith--who graciously provided me with images of his finds for use at my web site. Specimen in actual size is approximately 4 millimeters long (about a sixth of an inch). It's called scientifically Dasyhelea australis antiqua and is most closely related to the modern Dasyhelea australis australis, now living on the islands of Islas Juan Fernandez, about 400 miles west of Santiago, Chile. Note the wonderfully preserved faceted eyes.

Photomicrograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.

Here are two views of the specific calcareous concretion from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation that produced the adult female midge specimen seen in the preceeding two photographs, immediately above. Farrall S. Smith dissolved this very concretion he collected in Fossil Insect Canyon in a diluted solution of muriatic acid (commerical-grade hydrochloric acid) to recover the roughly 17 million year old insect from the insoluable residues--a midge called scientifically, Dasyhelea australis antiqua, which is most closely related to the modern Dasyhelea australis australis, now living on the islands of Islas Juan Fernandez, about 400 miles west of Santiago, Chile.

Photograph graciously provided by Farrall S. Smith.