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| Cyclops reluctantly assumed a side pose for the camera |
Spring has made a tentative approach but is in steady retreat again...temps are heading down to freezing again later today. The warm weather of the last few days did however open a ditch along my property and I've finally got a whole bunch of stuff to examine. Cyclops, ostracods, and a whole bunch of different ciliates with many rotifers among them. My technique, if I can call it that, was to open a jar at the bottom of the ditch, right above the sediment. Doing this allowed a bunch of water to rush into the container bringing everything within a few inches into it, including some debris. back at the microscope, one micro-event did stand out. As I was examining one of the copepods, it started to molt and in just a few seconds it was out of it's old skin and motoring away. Luckily, I had been taking pictures and I got a couple of, well, mediocre images that show what happened. I wonder if the event was serendipitous or the molt was brought on by the pressure of the cover glass?
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| Bubble on upper back shows where old skin has started bunching up |
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| Discarded skin on left, newly clothed cyclops on the right |
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