Hello Foldscopers!

It is cold outside where I am, but if it is a nice sunny day, I like to go for a walk and explore the creeks in my neighborhood.

I love creeks. There is something about following the movement of water that calms me down. But if you live in an urban area like me, it might be tricky to find them. Often times, to make more room for buildings and roads, creeks are covered up underneath the concrete.

Luckily, some creeks survive the urbanization and remain visible, although their shapes may be heavily modified by humans. Here is an example of such a water way.

This is where I found this critter.

I prepared a wet mount slide with reusable PVC Slide with 2 windows (Slide C2) , placed the critter along with a droplet of creek water inside one window, then placed a reusable PVC coverslip over it very carefully.

Let’s take a closer look…

Magnification: 140x (no digital zoom)
Light: LED light
Sample prep method: wet mount
Sample info: sample taken from an urban creek in Fukuoka, Japan with a homemade plankton net

I am not familiar with this critter. Does anyone know what this might be?

I will share more on how I caught this little one next time – homemade plankton net!

Honomi