Wot I did at werk today
Feb. 2nd, 2009 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapeofthingsI had a rather lovely day today, as far as Mondays go. I got to hide in the lab almost all day, playing with bugs. I even managed to nab the swanky 'scope with the camera for a couple of hours this afternoon. SO of course I had to take a few happy-snaps of the little critters I'd been identifying. Yes, I know, geek.
Aquatic macroinvertebrates. Larval and adult insects found in freshwater habitats, visible to the naked eye (but only just in many cases). Occasionally it's my job to sort through samples and classify the little buggers to Family level (that's before you get to Genus and Species - the really nerdy people do that). The one above here is a fairly big one, maybe 15mm. It's the larva of a type of mayfly. They're predators, these guys, towards the top of the waterbug food chain.
This guy's another predator, even closer to the top of the food chain. It's a dragonfly larvae. He was about 20mm, though some species of dragonfly larvae will get up 50mm - the big cats of the bug world. They're fearsome hunters with funky hinged mouth-parts that they can swing out to grab onto their prey. Yet they grow into such lovely adults!
More bugs, including a close-up of that dragonfly jaw
Dragonfly larvae are mostly identified by their mouthparts. Sometimes you have to pull out the hinged jaw and count the tiny hairs inside, which is as difficult and tedious as it sounds. I much prefer ones like this Telephlebiid that are easy to key out.
The last group of bugs I ID in a sample are the Trichopterans, or Caddisflies. I save them for last because (a) I like them, and (b) they can be really difficult to ID. Caddis are amazing little creatures; whilst some are free-living, most build themselves little cases to hide in. My favourite kinds can walk around whilst keeping almost all of their body inside the case, using extra-long back legs that reach forwards and out of the case. Different Families of caddis build different types of cases. Some hollow out sticks, some glue two leaves together in a sleeping-bag style array. Some stick tiny grains of sand together in perfect spirals, fastened with silk, and others weave their cases from plant fibres (see, I told you I really liked these guys).
Here's one of the weavers, with the top of his head just poking out the top of his case. This is a pretty chunky case for a weaver. Some of them are amazingly delicate creations woven with Fibonacci precision.
This tiny little micro-caddis (we're talking about 2mm here) makes itself a little silk purse to call home. Stylin'!
And just for comparison, here's one of the types that doesn't bother with a case. Happy to go homeless, this guy's built more robustly - check out those tarsi, baby!
And that's enough geeking out over bugs for one day, but if the microscope with the camera is free again next time, I think there may be more. I mean, you haven't even seen a Gripopterygidae yet, with it's fuzzy little bum! Back to the computer tomorrow though, so bugs will have to wait.
Aquatic macroinvertebrates. Larval and adult insects found in freshwater habitats, visible to the naked eye (but only just in many cases). Occasionally it's my job to sort through samples and classify the little buggers to Family level (that's before you get to Genus and Species - the really nerdy people do that). The one above here is a fairly big one, maybe 15mm. It's the larva of a type of mayfly. They're predators, these guys, towards the top of the waterbug food chain.
This guy's another predator, even closer to the top of the food chain. It's a dragonfly larvae. He was about 20mm, though some species of dragonfly larvae will get up 50mm - the big cats of the bug world. They're fearsome hunters with funky hinged mouth-parts that they can swing out to grab onto their prey. Yet they grow into such lovely adults!
More bugs, including a close-up of that dragonfly jaw
Dragonfly larvae are mostly identified by their mouthparts. Sometimes you have to pull out the hinged jaw and count the tiny hairs inside, which is as difficult and tedious as it sounds. I much prefer ones like this Telephlebiid that are easy to key out.
The last group of bugs I ID in a sample are the Trichopterans, or Caddisflies. I save them for last because (a) I like them, and (b) they can be really difficult to ID. Caddis are amazing little creatures; whilst some are free-living, most build themselves little cases to hide in. My favourite kinds can walk around whilst keeping almost all of their body inside the case, using extra-long back legs that reach forwards and out of the case. Different Families of caddis build different types of cases. Some hollow out sticks, some glue two leaves together in a sleeping-bag style array. Some stick tiny grains of sand together in perfect spirals, fastened with silk, and others weave their cases from plant fibres (see, I told you I really liked these guys).
Here's one of the weavers, with the top of his head just poking out the top of his case. This is a pretty chunky case for a weaver. Some of them are amazingly delicate creations woven with Fibonacci precision.
This tiny little micro-caddis (we're talking about 2mm here) makes itself a little silk purse to call home. Stylin'!
And just for comparison, here's one of the types that doesn't bother with a case. Happy to go homeless, this guy's built more robustly - check out those tarsi, baby!
And that's enough geeking out over bugs for one day, but if the microscope with the camera is free again next time, I think there may be more. I mean, you haven't even seen a Gripopterygidae yet, with it's fuzzy little bum! Back to the computer tomorrow though, so bugs will have to wait.
