Unexpected results - gotta love Biology
Posted: 31 Aug 2015, 14:34
Our little tinies - aka Yr7's - did an experiment over the weekend. Pretty standard stuff: Elodia in flasks - one in the dark, one in the sun with no extra CO2, one in the sun with CO2 blown into the water, and test tubes to collect the (hopefully) O2 generated. All good so far.
Today a little cherub comes to me and asks me "What is this animal thingy?" and points to a creature on the inside of the test tube, and hands me a magnifying glass. So I am peering at a little brown creature, with two legs coming out of one side only of a soft-looking body, and possibly more legs curled up underneath. Well, I would have called slug at first, except for those damned legs.
We transferred the creature to a petrie dish full of water, and stuck it under a microscope, turned the lamp on, and suddenly there were lots of legs. Lots and LOTS.
Turns out its a leech, that lays "cocoons" (and I quote) onto the underside of its body, and then waits for those to hatch, and tiny fully formed baby leeches hatch out, and then attach to Mama. When they detect a mammal, by its body heat, they run away from Mama and attach for a feed. So all the little legs were baby leeches running for the microscope lamp.
Kids were fascinated, and fizzing with excitement BUT...now I have flasks filled with almost microscopic baby leeches!
So it's gloves on and hot dishwasher time! Yay!
Today a little cherub comes to me and asks me "What is this animal thingy?" and points to a creature on the inside of the test tube, and hands me a magnifying glass. So I am peering at a little brown creature, with two legs coming out of one side only of a soft-looking body, and possibly more legs curled up underneath. Well, I would have called slug at first, except for those damned legs.
We transferred the creature to a petrie dish full of water, and stuck it under a microscope, turned the lamp on, and suddenly there were lots of legs. Lots and LOTS.
Turns out its a leech, that lays "cocoons" (and I quote) onto the underside of its body, and then waits for those to hatch, and tiny fully formed baby leeches hatch out, and then attach to Mama. When they detect a mammal, by its body heat, they run away from Mama and attach for a feed. So all the little legs were baby leeches running for the microscope lamp.
Kids were fascinated, and fizzing with excitement BUT...now I have flasks filled with almost microscopic baby leeches!
So it's gloves on and hot dishwasher time! Yay!