Objects in mud

[gekko]

Some of the things I found on a drop of muddy water on a microscope slide.

[75RR]

Is this from the famous muddy pothole in the yard? How dry does it get in summer?
Could you post a picture of the site.
These "terrestrial environments" open up new collecting areas.

[gekko]

I'm afraid you will be disappointed: it is small and only about 5 cm (2 inches) deep. It fills up with rainwater when it rains a lot, and the water drains/evaporates slowly in a day or two of dry weather. It has the advantage that it is only a couple of meters from the house. Here is a picture to help give you an idea:



And here is a picture of a guy that was lurking in the pothole

[75RR]

Not what I was expecting. Had imagined a rather larger boggy area.
Would not have thought there would be anything in there. Just goes to show.

Mean looking Mosquito Larva you got there. Hope you did not put him back!

[gekko]

Not what I was expecting. Had imagined a rather larger boggy area.

I expected that you would be underwhelmed .

Mean looking Mosquito Larva you got there. Hope you did not put him back!

No, I did not I did take multiple photos of the whole larva (with the 4x objective) and tried to stitch them together, but the result was not good.

[charlie g]

Hi, gekko...please get bolder in your home area microscopy...perhaps dig into that rain water area and place a deep-dish plastic container to host a: 'vernal pond'. You still let nature take it's course...but you nudge habitat to be a vernal pool.

When nobody in my family was looking, I placed river litoral duckweed and floating plants into our garden bird-bath waters. We went on holiday to the St.Lawrence River in 8/14, I placed the sample in our home bird bath upon return from this river shore holiday.

All sorts of 'microcosms' are terrific for our microscopy...please think about outdoor setup 'microcosms' for your microscopy through the seasons. all the best, charlie guevara

[gekko]

Hi Charlie,
I"m glad you joined the new forum, and many thanks for your excellent advice: I'll do as you say, but my question is, "how do I avoid breeding mosquitoes?"