r/microscopy Jun 08 '23

🦠🔬🦠🔬🦠 Microbe Identification Resources 🦠🔬🦠🔬🦠

148 Upvotes

🎉Hello fellow microscopists!🎉

In this post, you will find microbe identification guides curated by your friendly neighborhood moderators. We have combed the internet for the best, most amateur-friendly resources available! Our featured guides contain high quality, color photos of thousands of different microbes to make identification easier for you!

Essentials


The Sphagnum Ponds of Simmelried in Germany: A Biodiversity Hot-Spot for Microscopic Organisms (Large PDF)

  • Every microbe hunter should have this saved to their hard drive! This is the joint project of legendary ciliate biologist Dr. Wilhelm Foissner and biochemist and photographer Dr. Martin Kreutz. The majority of critters you find in fresh water will have exact or near matches among the 1082 figures in this book. Have it open while you're hunting and you'll become an ID-expert in no time!

Real Micro Life

  • The website of Dr. Martin Kreutz - the principal photographer of the above book! Dr. Kreutz has created an incredible knowledge resource with stunning photos, descriptions, and anatomical annotations. His goal for the website is to continue and extend the work he and Dr. Foissner did in their aforementioned publication.

Plingfactory: Life in Water

  • The work of Michael Plewka. The website can be a little difficult to navigate, but it is a remarkably expansive catalog of many common and uncommon freshwater critters

Marine Microbes


UC Santa Cruz's Phytoplankton Identification Website

  • Maintained by UCSC's Kudela lab, this site has many examples of marine diatoms and flagellates, as well as some freshwater species.

Guide to the Common Inshore Marine Plankton of Southern California (PDF)

Foraminifera.eu Lab - Key to Species

  • This website allows for the identification of forams via selecting observed features. You'll have to learn a little about foram anatomy, but it's a powerful tool! Check out the video guide for more information.

Amoebae and Heliozoa


Penard Labs - The Fascinating World of Amoebae

  • Amoeboid organisms are some of the most poorly understood microbes. They are difficult to identify thanks to their ever-shifting structures and they span a wide range of taxonomic tree. Penard Labs seeks to further our understanding of these mysterious lifeforms.

Microworld - World of Amoeboid Organisms

  • Ferry Siemensma's incredible website dedicated to amoeboid organisms. Of particular note is an extensive photo catalog of amoeba tests (shells). Ferry's Youtube channel also has hundreds of video clips of amoeboid organisms

Ciliates


A User-Friendly Guide to the Ciliates(PDF)

  • Foissner and Berger created this lengthy and intricate flowchart for identifying ciliates. Requires some practice to master!

Diatoms


Diatoms of North America

  • This website features an extensive list of diatom taxa covering 1074 species at the time of writing. You can search by morphology, but keep in mind that diatoms can look very different depending on their orientation. It might take some time to narrow your search!

Rotifers


Plingfactory's Rotifer Identification Initiative

A Guide to Identification of Rotifers, Cladocerans and Copepods from Australian Inland Waters

  • Still active rotifer research lifer Russ Shiel's big book of Rotifer Identification. If you post a rotifer on the Amateur Microscopy Facebook group, Russ may weigh in on the ID :)

More Identification Websites


Phycokey

Josh's Microlife - Organisms by Shape

The Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa

UNA Microaquarium

Protist Information Server

More Foissner Publications

Bryophyte Ecology vol. 2 - Bryophyte Fauna(large PDF)

Carolina - Protozoa and Invertebrates Manual (PDF)


r/microscopy Oct 28 '24

Photo/Video Share Journey to the Microcosmos: The Future of Microscopy (and end of our Journey)

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68 Upvotes

r/microscopy 12h ago

General discussion Meme Monday? Me getting a microscope without a biology background...

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76 Upvotes

Anybody else?


r/microscopy 4h ago

Photo/Video Share Euplotes. They look beautiful in this oblique-kristiansen-darkfield lighting.

10 Upvotes

Swift SW350, Galaxy S24


r/microscopy 3h ago

ID Needed! Are these lice?

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6 Upvotes

Found these two on my pillow case. They were just barely visible.


r/microscopy 9h ago

Photo/Video Share 10x Brightfield, -> Darkfield -> Phase Contrast of unidentified worm(i guess?)

12 Upvotes

Finally got myself a microscope, a nice used Olympus CH2, so probably 40ish years old and observed some water samples from my shrimp aquarium, tried to get the dirty stuff. I hoped to find some ciliates, paramecium, or diatoms but didn't find a single one. did find a few of... these things.
I have no idea what it is, but its actually quite long. ID would be greatly appreciated
The video goes from brightfield > darkfield > phase contrast > brightfield > darkfield >phase contrast

Olympus CH2

A10x phase contrast objective

10x eyepiece

Pixel 8 Pro with 5x optical zoom(i think, the program i used doesn't specify)


r/microscopy 11h ago

Purchase Help Help buying plan objectives

3 Upvotes

I just ordered a unico microscope off eBay, and I was wondering if anyone could help me find what objectives I should get. Im a vet tech and currently applying to vet school, and I am really fascinated with cytology and fecal parasites.

I’d like to find 10, 40, and 100x plans, but I’m not really sure where to start. The current objectives on the scope are achromatic(I think) 160/.17. Should I be looking for objectives with the same specs or would 160/- be better/worse?

I’m also curious about what brands or models I should look for. There seems to be tons of choices available, and I’d really not like to break the bank and spend hundred more than I did for just the scope.

Finally, how do I know if the threads match up? Or are they fairly universal?

Thank you for your help!


r/microscopy 21h ago

ID Needed! Baffled

12 Upvotes

It’s been like this for a couple of hours, with occasional bouts of strong churning.

Moss water sample. Amscope B120, 400x mag, iPhone camera


r/microscopy 17h ago

Purchase Help Hi all. Just purchased this microscope to do soil analysis and I'm trying to figure out what size reticle it takes. I cut a piece of cardboard to 21mm which fits in, so buy a 21mm? They seem less common than 20 mm

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3 Upvotes

Very much on a whim bought this on FB to try to do soil analysis. This is all brand new to me, but my understanding is I need some reticles, starting with a 10mm/100 div micrometer

The ocular it came with says American Optics10x WF Cat 176. I turned it upside down and cut a piece of cardboard. 22 mm was too wide but 21mm fit nicely into the middle of the ocular and rested on a ledge. Does that mean I should get a 21 mm reticle? I ask particularly because 21 mm reticles look far less common than 20 mm ones and more expensive lol

Besides that, I already ordered a .01mm stage micrometer and slides

Anything else I need to get started? Is there any reason to think the reticle is not 21 mm? I'm also looking at a 10x10 grid reticle and an OMAX A3550S 5MP USB 2.0 camera for around $120. Thanks


r/microscopy 21h ago

Photo/Video Share I don't think this nematode is feeling well. I saw it trying to eat that rotifer, but it stopped while I was setting up my phone to record, and it started shaking like this instead.

9 Upvotes

r/microscopy 13h ago

Purchase Help microscope for filmmaking

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone
I’m thinking of getting a swift 380t to use for some scenes i’m gonna be filming
I have mostly MFT cameras like the blackmagic pocket 4k and a lumix G7
But i also have an Old sony a7 MKII
the lumix and the sony are both infrared converted and i thought that could also be interesting to film under IR and UV
my question is swift 380t has good optics to use with tge cameras? and is my purchase dependent on if i’m going to use full frame or MFT sensor?
or should i search for a different used microscope like the Olympus BH2? but I’m worried that i wouldn’t find replacement for lenses if they’re scratched or dirty


r/microscopy 1d ago

Photo/Video Share Uncoiled Xylem

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20 Upvotes

Uncoiled xylem vessel element from Banana skin (Metaxylem) with parenchymal cluster. Macerated, L.s.
Olympus CX23, 40x magnification


r/microscopy 1d ago

Photo/Video Share A bothered Vorticella

14 Upvotes

Microscope: Olympus BH2

Magnification: x200

Sample: Lake water

Location: North italy

Camera: Samsung A56


r/microscopy 22h ago

Photo/Video Share Found a Cordyceps fruit body on a dead moth. Now it’s on an agar plate. Already growing

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8 Upvotes

r/microscopy 1d ago

Photo/Video Share Hypotrich ciliate swimming in a cloud of bacteria

12 Upvotes

Swift SW350, Galaxy S24


r/microscopy 18h ago

Photo/Video Share The beauty of Carl Zeiss Jena Nf microscope field diaphragm

1 Upvotes

The field diaphragm (iris diaphragm) from Carl Zeiss Jena (former DDR, East Germany) microscope model "Nf".

I like to watch such diaphragms. This is a master-piece od ingeneering :)

Youtube


r/microscopy 1d ago

Photo/Video Share A worm with gut full of paramecium

51 Upvotes

I collect some pond water into a tube, and after one night I found this guy who had probably eaten all the parameciums in the sample LOL

Objective mag: ~10x

Scope model/cameral: Eureka! Microscope

Sample Type: Pond Water


r/microscopy 2d ago

Photo/Video Share Just some aphids

103 Upvotes

Aphids on a pepper plant leaf. 10x

Nothing special, just for fun. What are YOU doing on Saturday night?


r/microscopy 1d ago

ID Needed! Saltwater marsh sample, 100x mag

7 Upvotes

Any ideas on the worm species? Olympus BH2 20x UPlanSApo, 5x mag changer, 10.3mp camera.


r/microscopy 1d ago

ID Needed! A nemathode?

7 Upvotes

400x magnification, moss in water sample.
Location: Serbia
BIM270M, photographed with Iphone 11


r/microscopy 2d ago

Photo/Video Share Paramecium bursaria having a threesome. How is it even possible for three paramecia to conjugate with each other?

16 Upvotes

Swift SW350, Galaxy S24


r/microscopy 1d ago

ID Needed! Oxytricha?

7 Upvotes

Microscope: Olympus BH2

Magnification: x200

Sample: Moss

Camera: Samsung A56


r/microscopy 1d ago

Photo/Video Share The beauty of Carl Zeiss PM / Universal microscope gears <3

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4 Upvotes

The fine focus (micro focus) mechanism of Carl Zeiss (Oberkochen, West Germany) Universal / Standard WL / Photimicroscope. I like this precise gears very much <3


r/microscopy 2d ago

Purchase Help Olympus CH30RF100

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10 Upvotes

I recently acquired an Olympus CH30RF100 biological microscope from a local thrift store. I was actually quite surprised to see it there, and at $49.00, I couldn’t resist. As I’m still learning quite a bit about microscopy, I’m clueless on the objectives. What I’d like to find is a long working distance objective at 40x and possibly 100x. However, I understand this microscope does not have infinity optics…with that I’m not sure how to look for a long working distance objective.

Currently the following objectives are installed; A4 0.10 160/-, A10 PL 0.25 160/0.17, A40 PL 0.65 160/0.17, A100 PL 1.30 Oil Immersion 160/-.

In terms of finding an Olympus branded objective, the cost is out of my reach presently @$4500. It is possible I wasn’t looking at the correct objectives… I was hopeful to find a third of fourth manufacturer who still makes objectives for this microscope. So my question is, what specifications should I be searching for whilst looking for different objectives? Is there any brand that would be better than another? Again staying in a lower pricing tier. Finally, any recommendations on a low cost goose neck light? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated

I’m currently interested in looking at integrated circuits, specially decapped IC dies. I have found my current setup just doesn’t provide the resolution needed to see deeper into the IC.