I brought home some pond water a couple of weeks ago, but in the summer heat, the water turned anaerobic (smelling of H2S) and I hastily took some of the smelly water and to my delight saw this larva. I think it is definitely some Dipteran species, although which one I am not sure. I love its transparency. Are those muscles? What are those two dark circular structures in the gut?  I then made a permanent slide of this in karo. For this, I suspended the larva in GALA20 for 3 minutes and then sandwiched it between a slide and coverslip in Karo (For methodology refer to Walter Dioni’s post ). I admit I was a bit impatient and microwaved it for 10 seconds to solidify faster and then sealed the coverslip with nail polish. This is where I thought I’d end my post— but… — read on after the first video

When I examined the slide again, to my utter surprise the larva cleared up even further revealing its interiors. In particular the tracheal network (by which the insect breathes) is well outlined and finally those dark circular structures– WoWWWW! What do you think they are? I think this is a Volvox-like Chlorophyte swallowed by the larva, must have been two of them. Any other ideas about these?

The water sample was also teeming with this flagellate. I wonder if they will transition to an amoeboid stage? Will keep looking. Happy Father’s Day.