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Re: Daphnia, yeast, and stuff and bloodworms
Maybe you live near a pond or lake and the kids left the door open. I
deliverately cultured these for a while until I began to worry about the speed
with which they filled up the light fixtures in the whole house with their
bodies.Bloodworms are of course we all know the larva stage of a chironomid.
What the residents that live close to the lake here call muffleheads or
Canadian soldiers (which used to be an entirely different bug that bites).
They look like a mosquito but have no mouth parts, just some fuzz. In fact the
whole digestive system has been dispensed with in order to make room for more
reproductive organ space. The larvae abound on the mud flats here, numberless
bloodworms will molt to adults on the right spring or fall day. I few years
ago, it wasn't uncommon to see someone out with a snow shovel or broom,
cleaning drifts of dead adults off their sidewalks. Since zebra mussels have
invaded, I haven't seen the muffleheads like they used to be, but there is not
necessarily a connection. There is a strong correlation between people who are
allergic to dust mites also being allergic to blood worms. If you use blood
worm, live or dead, be sure to keep this in mind if any allergic people are in
or visit your house. They feed on debris and possibly filter feed. They wrap
themselves in a tube of whatever algae or slime they find handy. Except for
his head, the bloodworm stays constantly hidden. Although fish like them and
thrive on them, they do have drawbacks. I had no problem allergy-wise, but I
was afraid if I missed a day emptying out all the ceiling light globes, my
house would burn down. I put a reptile screen on the culture to keep the
adults in, but this only worked until I lifted the lid. Dan