Stewart Valley, Nevada

The Stewart Valley insect collection housed in the UC Museum of Paleontology contains a total of 2,792 specimens (not including counterparts) of which 1,100 specimens are currently on loan to the University of Colorado at Boulder. To date, all the Stewart Valley specimens have been entered into the UCMP searchable online database, with 1,892 high resolution images available via the Calphotos website. The specimen records and low resolution images are also accessible through the iDigBio, iDigPaleo, GBIF, and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) websites. 

iya_mar_sv_2
Iyawnna Hazzard & Marwa Elfaramawi using the Canon 5D Mark III camera, focusing rail, laptop, IKEA LED gooseneck lamps, and Canon remote software to image the Stewart Valley insects.
UCMP_D9921_399008_Twit
A winged ant (Family Formicidae) beautifully preserved as a 2D compression in lacustrine shale of the Savage Canyon Formation. Winged ants represent the reproductively mature members of the colony and their sole purpose is to mate. The Stewart Valley insect fauna includes an abundance of ants and many have wings. Winged ants can be mistaken for termites but unlike termites they have elbowed antennae and their wings are much shorter relative to the length of their bodies.