Weekend trip to grandparents-in-law means microscope pictures.

[specious_reasons]

Went up for this weekend to Michigan, where my grandparent-in-law have a house by a lake. This, of course, means I take a water sample.

Where to begin? Probably with this:





Which is what I assume is a seed pod, surrounded by a colony of vorticella.

Here's a closeup of the vorticella.


There are times when I really wish I had a decent video camera, because to experience some things as a static image is really only a small part. Case in point, this is a a little green protist of the genus Cosmarium. One of its kin was being buffeted around by the eddies created by the vorticella. I was only able to get a picture of one that wasn't being moved all around.





The last 2 pictures for now are insect pupa. Probably mosquito, but I'm not certain. I find these pictures deliciously disturbing. There's an alien look to these that pleases me.

[livius drusus]

[Megatron]

I love these threads

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

Went up for this weekend to Michigan, where my grandparent-in-law have a house by a lake. This, of course, means I take a water sample.

Where to begin? Probably with this:





Which is what I assume is a seed pod, surrounded by a colony of vorticella.

I was corrected on Flickr - These are Daphnia diapause eggs.

In Daphnia the female produces two diapausing eggs at a time, encased in a saddle-shaped protectivecovering known as an ephippium. When the female molts, the ephippium is released and sinks to the water bottom.

http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/inhsrep.../plankton.html

So basically, this is a molted Daphnia ass with eggs in it.

[Sauron]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

My name is Barash:

[Vivisectus]

I can't un-see the Orly owl now.

Awesome pics!

[specious_reasons]

More!

My favorite flatworm! Planaria. The only thing odd about this one - where are its eyes? I have pictures of the same kind, and it had cute little eyespots.

This one didn't have a discernable eyespot....





I was trying to get a better picture of those water flea eggs, but I didn't, there were tons of ciliates in the water, and I didn't get a good picture of those either, until I switched to phase contrast. The long thin ones are genus Litonotus.

[Janet]

I like planarian worms for the Swamp Thing tie in.

We're just plain Aryan worms.

[specious_reasons]

Reproduction! (or the world is a cruel place, or both)

An as of yet unidentified ciliate:


And another random picture. 2 ciliates, (one Litonotus hiding in the corner, the other not identified, but the same type as the breeder above), and a rotifer on the right.