Midge larvae

A few days ago I discovered what appeared to be eggs in a mass of jelly about 2cm long in a tray of water in our garden.

The eggs appeared to be arranged spirally within the jelly.

On examination under the microscope, we could see small creatures inside the eggs.

Three days later, these had hatched out as small larvae.

These appear to be the larvae of Chironomids, or non-biting midges. We'll watch to see how they develop.

Addition to previous blog entry:

Last Saturday I found more star jelly, high up on a Scottish mountain.