Since travel is still a bit limited we have had time to enjoy things closer to home. My first love as a child naturalist was gazing into a pond and seeing the myriad of creatures that lived there. Even now I get a thrill from seeing them again. Last week we found a huge number of these Ostracods locally. Named after the Greek word for shell they live within the shell just poking out swimmerets to propel themselves. How did they get there? Who know but their eggs can stand drought so they could have arrived with moss I placed close to the pond. It is probably thirty years since I previous took pictures of them. They do present a serious challenge since they are about 1.5 mm in size. You need all the magnification you can muster... and more. Even Daphnia are larger. Enjoy |