Well No Cordyceps but...

Images made through a microscope. All subject types.

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Ken Ramos
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Well No Cordyceps but...

Post by Ken Ramos »

No no Cordyceps, I tried to soften one of those spikes from the back of the ants head, those things are like minature nails and just as hard, broke a cover glass trying to press one out after having soaked all night in an alcohol solution. :? Thought about putting it out in drive on a piece of plywood and backing over it with the truck. Now there is some "redneck microscopy" for ya. :wink: Anyway I decided I would do the next best thing and yank a Puff Ball up out of the yard. Used to play with those things when I was a kid, spores everywhere, wonder I didn't catch somethin'. Anyway I thought that the filaments inside the dehiscent ball would still hold a few spores and they did, though not as pretty as a myxomycete of course. :D

Image

Broke out the immersion oil for the shot on the right, turned out okay I guess. :smt017

discomorphella
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Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:26 pm
Location: NW USA

Post by discomorphella »

Hi Ken--

Nice shots, you may find that soaking the ant spore structure in dilute ethanol (diluted cheap vodka...) with a few % of mild detergent (laundry detergent for example) will soften it up...I'd really like to see what the ant-killer spores look like...we seem to have been finding various infections to look at lately....

--David

Ken Ramos
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Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

Been years since I purchased a bottle of HOOCH! :lol: I have on hand however some denatured wood alcohol, Ethanol/Methanol mixture, would that suffice? I am still investigating the area around my home. Seems there are hundreds of ants in this area that have been infected but they are large ants that I am finding, no small ones and there are none really no more than eye level. For a while there I was looking really up high for ants or other insects and that is not to say that I will not find any much higher than what I have already found, it is just that, eye level and below is where most seem to be. I am now very intriuged by all this, since there are species of Cordyceps. Two differnet ones I have now found and I still have to identify. :smt017 Thanks Dave :D

discomorphella
Posts: 608
Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2006 7:26 pm
Location: NW USA

Post by discomorphella »

Hi Ken--

Regular old isopropyl ("rubbing alcohol") diluted down to 20% or less would be fine too. The detergent is also important, you're trying to soften the chitin (fungal cell walls) a bit so you can make a squash preparation. A weak base like borax or dilute ammonia will probably work too. The local farm store around here sells a preparation of sodium doedecyl sulfate under the trade name Orvus, its sold for washing horses...you probably won't need the whole jar, huh....a 1% solution of that in dilute alcohol is pretty much what I would try in lab. You can try making a squash preparation of the structure in dilute ammonia solution (that way it avoids messy dried crusts of stuff around your cover glass as it evaporates), or just plain water once you get it softened up. Looking forward to seeing what those structures look like. There's so much moss/lichen on my trees here I didn't think to look for ants remaining on the twigs...will have to go do that now...

--David

Ken Ramos
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Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

Okay David, I will give it a try, thanks! :D

beetleman
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Location: Southern New Hampshire USA

Post by beetleman »

So...thats what a puffball mushrooms` spores look like. Thanks Ken for this view into something that is so common.
Take Nothing but Pictures--Leave Nothing but Footprints.
Doug Breda

Ken Ramos
Posts: 7208
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

Yep thats what they look like there Doug. I still can't get that cordyceps fruiting body to soften but I did manage one shot, well actually two out of it, which I will post tomorrow. Thanks Doug. :D

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