On May 9, 9:25*pm, Alexander Avtanski wrote:
Hello,

I just finished building a simple air sampler that blows air on a
sticky tape, and today I got my first look at what's in the air.
There are things that I managed to identify, and some that I
couldn't. *One of the most abundant things in the air on my patio
right now is something I could not identify. *Here is a pictu

*http://avtanski.net/images/microscop...sample/p01.jpg

The thing on the right and slightly lower I'm pretty sure is a pine
pollen grain - I have it here for scale. *What is the weird star-like
thing on the left? *Air seems to be packed with these.

Here is another of the things, this one slightly different:

*http://avtanski.net/images/microscop...sample/p02.jpg

And while we are on this topic, what are the cell-like things that
look like pill capsules here (magnification is the same as before):

*http://avtanski.net/images/microscop...sample/p03.jpg

Somehow those look like spores to me - I saw similar pictures of
spores online. *Are those spores? *From fungi?

Regards,

- Alex

Very nice pictures! Those star-shaped things are very bizarre. I don't
think they're germinating pollen or fungi spores because they nearly
always only start with a single tube, not a mass in every direction.
However, it may be something in the myxomycota which is a hodge-podge
of things. I think that for a few reasons. The first is that this is
the time of year. The also are made of many cells working together, so
they may exit a cyst in more than more direction, and that they have
no cell wall and there isn't one visible in your picture.

In your second photo, there is a cell wall. Although I don't think
it's fungi. Fungi tend to make little plugs all along it's hyphae that
I don't see. Also, hyphae don't usually come to a point, it's more
rounded except in the reproductive structures. My guess is you have
captured a trichome. It looks just like a trichome. Also, in this
picture, you have another kind of pollen at the top center. You can
see 3 pores in it which identifies it as a eudicot. You only see
triporate pollen in the more advanced plants. You can't find it in
your pines.

I think those "pills" are fungal. They strike me as too small for
pollen. Plus, they look just like coprinus spores (although that is
just a guess). Coprinus is going wild all over my town in central
Wisconsin. Where are you and has it rained a lot lately? That might
explain your star structures.

Again, nice pictures.