My first Stentor!

[Lilly Begonia]

I've been wanting to find one of these since I saw one get gobbled up on YouTube by an amoeba. This is in pond water that has amoebas in it, so maybe I'll get to see that on my own slide.

[Crater Eddie]

Great catch! I rarely ever see them.
CE

[Lilly Begonia]

Great catch! I rarely ever see them.
CE

Thank you Eddie! I was quite happy to find it. It's the first one I've ever seen on my own scope. This is from the pond here in the Cape that didn't have the alligator. I got a 5 gal. bucket from it. Doing more slides real soon! Also found this Pediastrum on the slide:

[Pat Thielen]

Very nice and congratulations on the find! Many years ago when I was a wee lad I happened upon a stentor that built a case, or tube, that he lived in. But that was the only time I had ever seen one in the wild. It really is wonderful when you come across these -- They really are quite spectacular.

[Lilly Begonia]

Very nice and congratulations on the find! Many years ago when I was a wee lad I happened upon a stentor that built a case, or tube, that he lived in. But that was the only time I had ever seen one in the wild. It really is wonderful when you come across these -- They really are quite spectacular.

Thank you Pat, I was thrilled to find it! After I got the shots of it I saw it draw back into a long shapeless blob of sorts, and then extend itself back out into it's former form with the bell at the end. Fascinating to watch! It was rather like the behavior of some rotifers when feeding, gather in food, contract into a compact form, and then re-extend outwards to gather more food. I really must find and observe more of these! They seem a good deal more rare here for me than water bears, which seem quite plentiful by comparison. I think I want to find the more rare critters now.

[Pat Thielen]

Very nice and congratulations on the find! Many years ago when I was a wee lad I happened upon a stentor that built a case, or tube, that he lived in. But that was the only time I had ever seen one in the wild. It really is wonderful when you come across these -- They really are quite spectacular.

Thank you Pat, I was thrilled to find it! After I got the shots of it I saw it draw back into a long shapeless blob of sorts, and then extend itself back out into it's former form with the bell at the end. Fascinating to watch! It was rather like the behavior of some rotifers when feeding, gather in food, contract into a compact form, and then re-extend outwards to gather more food. I really must find and observe more of these! They seem a good deal more rare here for me than water bears, which seem quite plentiful by comparison. I think I want to find the more rare critters now.

It is interesting how some things are common for some people and are quite rare for others. Hopefully I'll get lucky and find a large population of water bears like you did. For other animals, at least for me, it's just been the luck of the draw. In a lake relatively close to my house I found a rather large population of testate amoebas, which are always very cool to observe. I also came across my first ever paramecium in the wild. So you never know what you might run across. There is always something new to discover, which makes this hobby a very interesting and surprising one. And there is always someone in the forums here who know what it is you're looking at.

[Lilly Begonia]

Very nice and congratulations on the find! Many years ago when I was a wee lad I happened upon a stentor that built a case, or tube, that he lived in. But that was the only time I had ever seen one in the wild. It really is wonderful when you come across these -- They really are quite spectacular.

Thank you Pat, I was thrilled to find it! After I got the shots of it I saw it draw back into a long shapeless blob of sorts, and then extend itself back out into it's former form with the bell at the end. Fascinating to watch! It was rather like the behavior of some rotifers when feeding, gather in food, contract into a compact form, and then re-extend outwards to gather more food. I really must find and observe more of these! They seem a good deal more rare here for me than water bears, which seem quite plentiful by comparison. I think I want to find the more rare critters now.

It is interesting how some things are common for some people and are quite rare for others. Hopefully I'll get lucky and find a large population of water bears like you did. For other animals, at least for me, it's just been the luck of the draw. In a lake relatively close to my house I found a rather large population of testate amoebas, which are always very cool to observe. I also came across my first ever paramecium in the wild. So you never know what you might run across. There is always something new to discover, which makes this hobby a very interesting and surprising one. And there is always someone in the forums here who know what it is you're looking at.

Well this morning I got word from someone in south Ontario I've been talking to on r/miscroscopy that he'd found his first water bear, and it was moving! I'd told him how I found them and he did the same thing, going out into the frozen north to get lichens off trees, and re-hydrate them indoors, give them time to warm up and wake up, and indeed he found water bears! He was so excited! I was so happy to have helped him!

Oh yes, testate amoebas were quit the trip for me, the first one I saw was like some alien creature not from this world. Francisco was kind enough to say what it was. I read up on it. Wow! I never imagined an amoeba could do that! Big surprise! Colonial diatoms were another big surprise. I could not have imagine those had I not seen them.

[Jonnyvine]

Great find