# Looking for pollen & out pops a mite.



## Moeuk (Feb 4, 2008)

I was preparing some slides with pollen on them. I don't know the name of the tiny flower, but to obtain pollen grains I had to smear the slide with glycerine and push (gently) the head of the flower into the glycerine.
On inspection under a microscope the following is what appeared.

this shows one of the mites covered in polle grains.










This shows the mite with larvae, another bonus.










and this is the larvae as we can make out the segmentation of the larval body.









Its not very often that this occures when making up pollen slides.

Moe.


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

That 'mite' sure looks like a flea to me. Don't mites have eight legs?


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## Moeuk (Feb 4, 2008)

You could be right Bill. I do not know a flee from a mite , but I can spot a Varroa mite easy. 
Best regards

Moe.


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## Troutsqueezer (May 17, 2005)

It certainly has a large, um....reproductive organ there in the middle.


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## GRIMBEE (Apr 3, 2007)

Looks like an aphid to me, their small, vary in color, and suck the juice out of many plants.


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

The "mite" is an aphid. (GRIMBEE is right.) Three tagmata (body regions), six legs, piercing-sucking mouthparts. . . it's an aphid.

The "mite larvae" appear to be maggots (fly larvae), probably of a small species of "gnat."

Mite larvae look like mites, but with six legs.


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