kiss me!
last month, i’ve had the chance to work on a river sampling from upper austria. the level of biodiversity exceeded anything i had seen from tyrolean rivers*, by far…
i just had to take the time to photograph some of the animals i found in that sampling: caddisfly larvae (trichoptera) and freshwater mites (hydrachnidia).
caddisfly larvae are somewhat special because many species build little portable cases for protection. kind-of like snails, only they don’t secrete their homes, they tinker them with stuff that’s lying around on the ground, and silk.
freshwater mites, on the other hand, are …”cute little balls” with (usually) 8 legs. there are more than 1000 species just within europe, and they can be used as indicator organisms because of distinct preferences in water quality etc.
[view photos: caddisfly larvae and freshwater mites]
* which, granted, weren’t that many either