MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Notable to me from circa 1950 textbooks, desmids indeed flourish on open moist soils...I enjoyed these brilliant crop field desmids, please enjoy these with me. Ah yes, a large ciliate, 'new to me' encountered in these tractor ruts. Plenty of time, now that I imaged captured these ciliates, to 'look...

We are charmed by these brown hydras: Hydra oligactis species...Anton L. described this hydra species in Netherlands.

Both these finger-nail clams and copepods...active in October'19 suggest these hardy meiofauna flourish/thrive year round if liquid waters are in their habitat. I have collected these same organisms under thick ice in dead of winter at this crop fields valley floor. For it's wonderful to think that ...

Hi 75RR, this specific area of the deep sloped cropfield always seeps surface waters down to the drainage channel at bottom of this land...the bottom I guess is termed the 'valley floor'. In dead of winter with weeks/month or so of below freezing temps...there is liquid water under thick ice cover o...

IMG_1942.JPG IMG_1996.JPG Sadly, numerous copepod water fleas were evident in scanning the sample in shallow pyrex dish, but these water fleas were quite agile in avoiding my fast-action collection eye-dropper. Technique is everything...I simply did not have the patience to disrupt the water sample...

Prior to this years chance tractor rutting, this specific area of vernal surface water flow down slope to the valley bottom drainage area was always a seep of less than one inch (? 2.53 cm?) depth...a near 'film of surface waters' which never hosted the field markers of rich meiofauna and protists. ...

Back at my bench, the matt of algae from one tractor rut was tranfered to a shallow pyrex dish and left to settle a few hours. Please purchase low cost pyrex dishes..these hold shallow depth collection samples from which an oblique illumination from a LED torch permits scan of your sample for target...

Err, that second image in my above post...an example of geographically proper: pater noster lakes. My microscopy world views have infused and enriched my world views. I used to see three tractor ruts with a gentle water flow..now I think: pater noster lakes, go figure. Yes that lone deer kept amblin...

Hi all, it's been cool 40's-50's F, and rains too often for most here in finger-lakes/US. Finally on a clear day, doggie and I went for a microscopy collection hike. Our target the wetland drainage band between two deep sloped crop fields. We never made it..too distracted by 'pater noster trio of tr...

Wonderful image capture of that rich world , thanks for sharing it dan. Really crisp optical focus of the variety of protists...thank you for this encounter. Charlie guevara

Thanks, apochronaut, for a stunning link to better overview of life and our fantastic biosphere. A Scottish chemist wrote a fine paperback on his theory that life started in the stabilizing matrix and shelter of clay substrates..just like 'mother bords, or optical benches, or electronic peg-boards u...

Welcome, Mark. Here in fingerlakes/US we have the 'cloud machines' of Lake Ontario, and often our dear finger lakes, so bench microscopy a joy. I did have my China "Sky Watcher 6"/f5 achro out two nights last week for M45 and the jewels within M37. Gossamer whisps between some of the sisters at 38mm...

Such a pleasant anecdote of your shared pleasant day, thanks for sharing the encounter...reminds us to always have a nible pocket camera with us when outdoors. Charlie guevara

Fantastic link which for me fleshes out our peritrich neighbors contractility...thanks much!! Charlie guevara

Beautiful collection, thanks for showing in forum. I have two, one from my grandma's Wells College,NY botany and invertebrate zoology courses. Grams course book actually instructs when to take out your drum microscope and look for... I'm not certain but I think these are termed: 'drum microscopes'? ...

thanks for your wonderful shared microscopy, Oliver! Charlie Guevara, finger lakes/US

Plastic containers are safer to hike about with. I do,nt want to hijack OP.s thread here!

Costal mudflats/shore areas host fantastic diatom communities. Leave collection plastic bottles 3/4ths submerged in shore waters...diatoms literally climb into the collection bottles.

all the best, Charlie guevara

I have strong appreciation of diatom slides, radiolarian slides which I purchased from Stephano's lab in Italy. Please give a look to this microscoppists lab for your needs...price point is very sweet! Charlie guevara

Fantastic 'beach combing' you share with us in forum...thank you, hobbyist46. I have beach sands sent to me from a microscopist in Abelene, Texas/US...( thank you Mike C.), and I have chamber slides sent to me from a microscopist in Italy (Milano, Italy...thank you). I enjoy your protocol for 'shell...

Beautiful holiday for you two, Microbob, I wish you good weather as high seas/ wave chop, could limit life on board. With a slight increase in 'foot print size', I'd take a more robust microscope...especially if you want to handhold a point&shoot dig camera for fresh plankton image captures. So much...

Hello MrSonchus...I'm sure a quality 40X PlanApo offers wonderful observations, I'm glad you have one. In your shared botanical microscopy you must have treated us to many experiences with that 40X PlanApo. My very recent acquisition of 10X and 20X Nikon PlanApos, along with my 60X PlanApo, these ha...

Hi David, that trinoc head you show is for circa 1980-90's Nikon Labophots ( me thinks). I offer you extremely lowcost...after we first view fixed diatom slides, fixed radiolarian slides, fixed tissue slides, live wet-mount protist and meiofauna slides...with the offered objectives you might wish to...

Beautiful Zetopn, a classic stand indeed, houstonix, thanks for sharing it in forum. I always mention these as: Reichert/Austria when talking about them, out of respect for this lineage.

I enjoy the baby sibling Reichert Austria Biozet trinoc stand. Again, thanks, houstonix

Please try 1.5% methyl cellulose..50/50 mix of your specimen fluid and this viscosity tool. Please purchase the larger size rectangular cover slips so you never approach the wetmount cover slip borders with 'tight working distance' high mag objectives. You can enjoy ciliates, large bacteria slowed d...

Beatiful black enamel stand, David...congrats, Charlie guevara

David, you have a beautiful, and to me as a baby-boomer...you have an elegant black enamel instrument in your home, thanks for sharing! It is now a question for you if you wish to further this stand from achro to plan achro, or fluor or apo Nikon objectives. I think you have already 'broken pedigree...

Hello...I'll coble some images together in this thread...offline (pm) I can suggest prices for objectives...all low cost. Too many hobbies...sigh..for me it's: 'too little time' for all that needs be done. Charlie Guevara, finger lakes/NY

Thanks Radaz, to me it is notable how often that larger Paramecium nudges and contacts both of dividing pair. A contrast with how that separated 'sibling pair' do not contact or nudge either of the ciliates near itself. Post partum Paramecium depression?!! Jokes aside..behaviors of the splitting pai...

Hi again, Pat...consider a quick and dirty use of thin plastic ruler..thickness equal to standard microscope glass slides are available...bore a hole then cement a rectangular cover slip over the hole. Sheet metal also easy to work with to fabricate a few DIY cover glass bottom slides. just a though...