Life cycle of a water flea
Discussion
Whilst doing a bit of experimentation on my nano-tank set-up (experimenting with the filter installation), I retrieved a couple of buckets of rainwater from my water butt and poured it into the tank.
When I switched the light on, I was slightly surprised to see a handful of daphnia-type water fleas moving about in the water.
This has piqued my curiosity: How on earth did they get there?
With mosquito larvae etc, it's pretty obvious: the adults fly in, lay their eggs, and fly away again.
Do daphnia have a flying stage? (I don't think so...)
Do they produce wind-borne eggs that could be washed out of the sky by rain and find their way into my water butt? If so, how do the eggs become wind-borne?
It's not a problem; I'm just very curious to understand how these creatures colonise new habitats. Anyone know the answer?
When I switched the light on, I was slightly surprised to see a handful of daphnia-type water fleas moving about in the water.
This has piqued my curiosity: How on earth did they get there?
With mosquito larvae etc, it's pretty obvious: the adults fly in, lay their eggs, and fly away again.
Do daphnia have a flying stage? (I don't think so...)
Do they produce wind-borne eggs that could be washed out of the sky by rain and find their way into my water butt? If so, how do the eggs become wind-borne?
It's not a problem; I'm just very curious to understand how these creatures colonise new habitats. Anyone know the answer?
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