Jsm 6360 scanning microscope

Strumigenys ants were collected from queenright laboratory nests that were maintained at National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. The artificial nests consisted of a round plastic tray 21.5 cm in diameter with a plaster of Paris floor to provide moisture, and covered with a lid. Ants were fed with Cyphoderus albinus springtails twice a week. Non-Taiwanese species were collected from natural nests (see Table 1 for survey of material examined). The anterior part of the head was cut off and fixed in cold 2% glutaraldehyde (buffered at pH 7.3 with 50 mM sodium cacodylate and 150 mM saccharose), followed by postfixation in 2% osmium tetroxide. Tissues were dehydrated in a graded acetone series, embedded in Araldite and sectioned with a Leica EM UC6 ultramicrotome. Semithin sections of 1 µm thickness were stained with methylene blue and thionin and examined using an Olympus BX-51 microscope, thin sections of 70 nm were double stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and examined using a Zeiss EM900 electron microscope. Heads of Strumigenys formosensis and S. solifontis workers were longitudinally split with a sharp razorblade, critical point dried in a Balzers CPD 030 instrument and mounted with double adhesive tape on aluminium stubs for examination under a JEOL JSM-6360 scanning microscope. All longitudinal views are shown with the anterior to the left.

Workers, alate queens and males of Brachyponera sennaarensis were collected from two colonies, nesting at the base of a date palm tree at Naa'm, Huata bani Tamim region in the south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during May 2014 and May 2015.
Anterior head parts as well as cleanly dissected mandibular glands were fixed in cold 2% glutaraldehyde, buffered at pH 7.3 with 50 mM Na-cacodylate and 150 mM saccharose. After postfixation in 2% osmium tetroxide in the same buffer and dehydration in a graded acetone series, tissues were embedded in Araldite and sectioned with a diamond knife using a Leica EM UC6 ultramicrotome. Serial semithin 1 μm sections were stained with methylene blue and thionin and viewed in an Olympus BX-51 microscope, double stained 70 nm thin sections were examined in a Zeiss EM900 electron microscope. Material for scanning microscopy was critical point dried in a Balzers CPD 030 instrument and examined in a JEOL JSM-6360 scanning microscope. Some material for SEM was initially treated with 10% KOH to dissolve the soft tissues in order to look at the cuticular parts.