Euglena up close; 2nd image added

[NikonUser]

I was fortunate to find a resting Euglena

Exposed many frames but because of the depth of the specimen
I had to stack fewer frames to get details.

All with 100x Oly D Plan Achromat, NA 1.25 and 2.5x NFK eyepiece; 0.0005 mm (0.5 microns) frames

Top: Surface pellicle, 12 frames
2nd: showing the gullet, and eyespot; 5 frames
3rd: showing nucleus (?), lines are the pellicle; and food storage body (bottom); 19 frames
4th: tail showing more food storage bodies; 18 frames.

My 1st attempt at oil immersion, I thank Charles Krebs for recommendations of an immersion oil.

At 3pm it's a humid 33.9 C in the shade, and this is Atlantic Canada!




NUM10025

[Charles Krebs]

NU,

Superb first attempt!

Actually you look like an "old hand" at this

[Mitch640]

Beautiful images. What are the diagonal lines?

[NikonUser]

NU,
Superb first attempt!
Actually you look like an "old hand" at this

Thanks Charles. But a re-born old hand; last microscope work was done in the mid 1950's.

Thanks Mitch.
The diagonal lines are part of the outer 'shell' or pellicle.
This structure includes, from outside in: a mucilage layer, a plasma membrane, a particulate layer, spiraling protein bands.

For a better image of the pellicle from a different species see
Charles' fantastic images here

[Mitch640]

Thanks for the link. I really do need to get out and collect some pond water. I have my new scope and camera, but have been trying to grow my own bugs in jars, and things seem to be sterile here.

[NikonUser]

I use a very fine mesh aquarium net (about 6" wide) on a long handle and just wiggle it through the plants growing underwater. About 5 sweeps gives me enough material to last days. I found that most of the microscopic material just disappears after about 3-4 days at home!

[Mitch640]

A great tip. I can do that. It's really frustrating having all this new stuff here and nothing to look at.

[Mitch640]

I just got back from the pet store. I found a dip net with a 3 foot stainless handle on it and a fine mesh net for under $7. Amazing. When I had an aquarium, there was nothing like that. You just stuck your arm right into the tank with a little guppy net and chased them around. Thinking back, the fish probably hated the sweat and body oils that came off peoples arms. This one is long enough to stay dry while dipping. Thanks for the great tip.

[NikonUser]

I've done 'chase the guppy' as well.

I suppose I should have defined "fine". I just measured my net, holes are 0.2 mm x 0.2 mm which catch even the microscopic stuff such as diatoms and desmids and even the tiny ciliates.

Locally I have found that a tiny stream outlet from a lake to be far more productive than a static pond.

Looking forward to see what you find.

[Mitch640]

I live in the country and there is a creek behind the house that winds through an abandoned farm and some woods, then a quarter mile downstreem, it runs by a little frog pond in a pocket park someone build years ago. It has really scummy water in it, turtles, frogs and some stuff in that makes it almost opaque. I would think that place would be jumping with stuff.

But today, it's so hot and humid, I just don't feel like getting out there today. But I'll be posting some when I get it. I don't know how to measure the openings in the net. Maybe put it on the scope and take a shot, then use the software to measure the holes. They look pretty small though.

I need practice though. If I can get anything half as good as you got here, I'll be happy.

[rjlittlefield]

These are really fine images, NU!

I'm curious about the "resting Euglena" part. Was this critter just spontaneously quiet, or did you have to encourage it somehow, say with chemicals or temperature?

--Rik

[NikonUser]

Thanks Rik:
No human interference.

The few Euglena I have seen recently were barreling through the FOV with a helical rotation. In contrast, this one was sedentary at the bottom of the dish. I'm wondering if that blob at the tail was some sort of sticky anchor. No flagellum was obvious. This character was absolutely loaded with paramylon bodies (CHO storage). Inactivity, no flagellum, lots of food storage makes me think that this guy had entered a 'resting stage' (for want of a better description).

[Mitch640]

NU, I just got back from a boat ramp on the Mississippi River. This time, I remembered to take the jar, and the new net. You were absolutely right. I now have some duck weed along with some kind of water fern looking stuff I have seen in aquariums, and a host of little bugs that live on or around them, plus a few zippy little dots that I can see, but can't tell what they are. I have found some diatoms also, but they are very small. Maybe too small for good viewing with my scope. Now I have something to work with. Thanks for the idea.

[NikonUser]

Mitch:
I do my initial sorting under a 50x binocular dissecting microscope, just enough power to see all but the smallest Desmids and ciliates. 100x would be better.
I then attempt to catch them in a pipette and place them on a slide - this is possibly the most difficult part of the operation.

Rik:
I just caught an active Euglena and slowed it down with a coverslip, but only slow enough to get single frames.
This guy appears to have no food reserve, the clear spot is the nucleus, and I believe helps my earlier thesis- hungry guys move, satiated guys sleep.