The topic for the June meeting was ‘Small is Beautiful’ and the presenter was Otto Mueller. Otto’s presentation started with a sequence of PowerPoint slides highlighting how microscopic life develops when water is left in an open bucket outside. At first the water is clear, then after a few days small specks start to appear. A week later and the specks start to come together to form green clumps of algae and later the clumps are even larger. When placed in a white dish and studied under a microscope it becomes evident that there is a green tube with a red worm sticking out of the end, this is a Bloodworm roughly 4mm long, the larval stage of a midge.

Otto then showed slides of the adult form of the midge. Further study of the water in the bucket identified another larva, this time it was a mosquito larva. The next slide showed an exuviate of the mosquito pupal stage. The next slides showed photographs of a Midge and Mosquito taken through a microscope. Then followed another larva, followed by a Mayfly larva and then three slides showing flatworms.

Otto finished his presentation with a photo of a Rat-tailed Maggot found in the black mud of a drying ephemeral lake. A close-up showed the long thin tail, which is used for breathing while under the mud. This larva develops into a Hover Fly. Otto’s presentation showed what is possible to be found in water bodies, even in old buckets of water. The level of detail shown in the slides highlighted Otto’s interest in the study of insects and his expertise in microscopic photography. Thanks Otto for a very interesting presentation.

Colin Prickett