Having an entomological background myself, I would love to have a go at this
problem myself.  Any chance of some loaners?

You may have more success with very young insects if this is possible.  Are
the parasites only present after blood meals, or can you take them through
pupation?

If the abdomen is the target area, you could try inflating them with a clear
fluid to stretch the integument and reduce its influence.  Head lice become
paler if grown in a "blond" environment, but I doubt if your mosquitoes will
be that obliging.

How are you mounting your insects?  Did you try imaging them in methyl
salicylate?  It has a very high refractive index and may work better if
opacity is also a problem.  Do you have to do the whole insect at once?  A
trick I used for dissecting lice was to place them on a wax dish and touch
near their heads with a fine soldering iron.  They then sunk into the little
puddle of molten wax, leaving their rear ends free for live dissection.  A
quick poke with a mounted blade chip and I could hoik out all their internal
organs with fine forceps.  I did hundreds like this every day for weeks on
end... Mosquitoes are more fragile, but you may be able to use Krazy Glue to
stick them to a cover slip.  This works with termites, which can be imaged
live.




David Carter
InSight Biomedical
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