Fairy Shrimp

Hi. It's been awhile. 

Earlier this month, Daniel found these really cool creatures that I have never seen before.  I spent so much time trying to figure out what they were and I have a real science degree and I even spent many many hours identifying aquatic macroinvertebrates. Mark didn't even know what they were and he knows this property better than anyone.

My science teacher friend identified them as Brine or Fairy Shrimp.  Otherwise known as Sea Monkeys!  I had no idea they could live in pond puddles, but that is their special niche.  They live in ephemeral bodies of water and have a very short life cycle.  They lay their eggs in the mud, which survive until the next rainy season.

Field trip to the pond puddle

 This puddle was so much bigger when it was full! By the time Daniel discovered the fairy shrimp, most of the water had dried up.

 There are two fairy shrimp in the picture above.  You can see their orange egg sacks.  The coolest thing (besides their life history) is that they swim upside down!

Daniel collected a bucket of specimens and he is planning on letting the bucket dry up so he can see if the eggs survive and hatch after he adds water again.  Fun project!  They are sitting in my school room right now.

But guess what? They are already hatching:

Brand new baby fairy shrimp with no legs yet!

 And guess what else? Fairy shrimp aren't the only thing in his bucket....

... this is a mosquito, halfway through metamorphosis.  I saw some empty exoskeletons floating around in the bucket this morning and Fiona exclaimed, "I was wondering where that mosquito came from!

Daniel now has a lid on his project until all the mosquitos are done hatching!