This is why I love #focusstacking. Look at the wrinkles on the neck of that gnat. The hairy compound eyes. The little ..erm... grey...thingy next to it. Anyone good with gnat anatomy? #setzkasten

I think I fixed the focus runoff issues on the #frankenscope, and if nothing else interrupts the current run, that's a 12x16 grid being captured in 130 layers at 80x magnification.

Gnatting there. The entire run was successful. #setzkasten
@relet
Wow! That is so cool!
@relet the detail here is blowing my mind 🤯

@nev Same here. Thank you.

So happy right now that I found the motivation to revive this project.

@relet Do you maybe know what kind of gnat that is? Also would be helpful to know if the structure is symmetrical on both sides or not.

@pkviatko

Not yet. Currently it is the calibration gnat that was first to land in my red/yellow pan trap. Southern Norway, mid march, right after snow melt.

I'll hopefully have a full picture soon, and when it is off calibration duty, I'll try to record any relevant features that are not visible in the panorama. Checking the other side of the slide should be easy enough without manipulation.

What would be candidates? My first thoughts were a collapsed ocellus or a small mite, but I wouldn't expect them in this location.

@relet Full-body picture would help a lot with identification, and also any size reference. Seems too close to the compound eye to be a median ocellus. Might be a developmental defect of the compound eye or something. Doesn't look like a base of a lost seta either...

@pkviatko

Seems to be symmetrical, so not a mite. Those are regular macro shots of both sides.

I uploaded to
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/344486589
for now until I have time for a proper id. Does not seem to be M. ornata unless there is some dimorphism?

The lighting could be better, especially for the wing pattern and terminalia.

I currently removed most of the light box to have access to automate, that's the next thing to restore.