Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

What are they?

Trouble?

-
[H]omer
(Gardening noob)

"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

What are they?

Trouble?

-
[H]omer
(Gardening noob)

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

What are they?

Trouble?

-
[H]omer
(Gardening noob)

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

--
not slug eggs?

On Thu, 13 May 2004 16:59:38 +0100, "Amber Ormerod"
wrote:


"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

What are they?

Trouble?

-
[H]omer
(Gardening noob)

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

--
not slug eggs?

No - Definitely slow release fertiliser like 'osmocote'.

Rod

Weed my email address to reply
http://website.lineone.net/~rodcraddock/index.html

On Thu, 13 May 2004 08:44:56 +0100, Martin Sykes wrote:

"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

Been in that pot since we bought it.

Fertiliser? OK great, that's a relief. Never seen fertiliser like that
before.

Thanks.

-
[H]omer

[H]omer13/5/04 8:12
On Thu, 13 May 2004 08:44:56 +0100, Martin Sykes wrote:

"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

Been in that pot since we bought it.

Fertiliser? OK great, that's a relief. Never seen fertiliser like that
before.

Thanks.

-
[H]omer


Don't worry about it. Every year there is at least one person who has never
seen these and is understandably concerned about them because they are
unknown. Nurseries use them quite a lot and we mix them into some composts
as a 'standard issue'.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

In article , Amber Ormerod
writes

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"[H]omer" wrote in message
news
Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:

3mm in diameter.
Yellow.
Hard (brittle) thin shell.
Perfectly spherical.
One half was sometimes semi-translucent.
Filled with a white, milky fluid and a single black "spot".
"Pop" quite loudly when burst.

What are they?

Trouble?

-
[H]omer
(Gardening noob)

Could be slow-release fertilizer. Have you just bought the rose or had it
been in the old pot for a long time?

--
not slug eggs?

They're transparent, not yellow. And they don't have a hard shell.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
Don't worry about it. Every year there is at least one person who has
never
seen these and is understandably concerned about them because they are
unknown. Nurseries use them quite a lot and we mix them into some
composts
as a 'standard issue'.

And I expect soon we'll get the inevitable 'What is this jelly like
substance on my lawn?' question from someone who's spilt the water retaining
crystals when they did their hanging baskets :-)

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

Martin Sykes wrote:
: "Sacha" wrote in message
: . uk...
:: Don't worry about it. Every year there is at least one person who
:: has never seen these and is understandably concerned about them
:: because they are unknown. Nurseries use them quite a lot and we mix
:: them into some composts as a 'standard issue'.
:
: And I expect soon we'll get the inevitable 'What is this jelly like
: substance on my lawn?' question from someone who's spilt the water
: retaining crystals when they did their hanging baskets :-)

I think you're wrong, I get these things on the allotments and was hoping
someone would anser the question so that I too would know. It's definitely
an insect egg of some sort on the allotment

The message
from "Robert" contains these words:

I think you're wrong, I get these things on the allotments and was hoping
someone would anser the question so that I too would know. It's definitely
an insect egg of some sort on the allotment

I think they sound very like worm 'eggs'.

Worms are hermaphrodites, and they lie together 'top-and-tail', secured,
IIRC, by each squeezing under the clitellum of the other. (The short
'sleeve' about a third the way from the front.)

The vesicles line up and the male part of each worm inseminates the
female part of the other. As part of the process (It's nearly fifty
years since I studied this at school, so memory is a bit hazy) the
clitellum is worked down each worm and the sperm and ova from the female
vesicle are squeezed into the clitellum, which is shed, and its ends
close up, encapsulating the fluids.

The eggs develop within the clitellum, which becomes a brittle dull
yellow shell.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

The message
from "Robert" contains these words:

I think you're wrong, I get these things on the allotments and was hoping
someone would anser the question so that I too would know. It's
definitely an insect egg of some sort on the allotment

I think they sound very like worm 'eggs'.

Worms are hermaphrodites, and they lie together 'top-and-tail', secured,
IIRC, by each squeezing under the clitellum of the other. (The short
'sleeve' about a third the way from the front.)

The vesicles line up and the male part of each worm inseminates the
female part of the other. As part of the process (It's nearly fifty
years since I studied this at school, so memory is a bit hazy) the
clitellum is worked down each worm and the sperm and ova from the female
vesicle are squeezed into the clitellum, which is shed, and its ends
close up, encapsulating the fluids.

The eggs develop within the clitellum, which becomes a brittle dull
yellow shell.

Yep they are worm capsules take it from me !

Cheers

Gary

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

I think they sound very like worm 'eggs'.

They don't sound like earthworm cocoons at all. Much more likely
to be arthropod or mollusc eggs or something added by the nursery that
supplied the plant. Looking back at the original description:

Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:
Cocoons are laid one by one as the worm moves through the soil,
not in masses. I've only found occasional ones, never great piles of
them.

3mm in diameter.
A bit small for earthworm cocoons, except for the smaller
species.

Yellow.
Cocoons are usually brown

Hard (brittle) thin shell.
True for cocoons

Perfectly spherical.
Definitely not spherical, they are tapered at each end. The
cocoon is secreted by the clitellum as a collar and when the worm
retreats out of it the ends contract and seal. There is a rather grotty
picture at:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/earthworms.htm

The vesicles line up and the male part of each worm inseminates the
female part of the other. As part of the process (It's nearly fifty
years since I studied this at school, so memory is a bit hazy) the
clitellum is worked down each worm and the sperm and ova from the female
vesicle are squeezed into the clitellum, which is shed, and its ends
close up, encapsulating the fluids.

Your memory is a bit hazy. Earthworms lie head to tail with the
male pores of one opposite spermathecal pores of the partner (and visa
versa). Sperm is exchanged and they go their own happy ways. Later over
periods weeks or months, each worm secretes a cocoon from the clitellum,
The worm retreats out of the cocoon, depositing into it ova (eggs) and
sperm from the female and spermathecal pores respectively. Fertilization
takes place in the cocoon but, although several ova are deposited only
since worms have been seen to emerge.

Of course, there are some worms that don't bother with meeting
up with another worm and just produce cocoons from which identical
copies of themselves emerge. (Come to think of it I don't think anyone
has checked whether the offspring are completely identical at the DNA
level.)
--
Amynthas
email address ROT13'd

The message
from Amynthas contains these words:
In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

I think they sound very like worm 'eggs'.

They don't sound like earthworm cocoons at all. Much more likely
to be arthropod or mollusc eggs or something added by the nursery that
supplied the plant. Looking back at the original description:

Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:
Cocoons are laid one by one as the worm moves through the soil,
not in masses. I've only found occasional ones, never great piles of
them.

If you look at my description of how they are formed, you'll see that
there is but one sphere full of fluid, which will mature into a lot of
tiny worms.

3mm in diameter.
A bit small for earthworm cocoons, except for the smaller
species.

Yellow.
Cocoons are usually brown

Hard (brittle) thin shell.
True for cocoons

Perfectly spherical.
Definitely not spherical, they are tapered at each end. The
cocoon is secreted by the clitellum as a collar and when the worm
retreats out of it the ends contract and seal. There is a rather grotty
picture at:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/earthworms.htm

The vesicles line up and the male part of each worm inseminates the
female part of the other. As part of the process (It's nearly fifty
years since I studied this at school, so memory is a bit hazy) the
clitellum is worked down each worm and the sperm and ova from the female
vesicle are squeezed into the clitellum, which is shed, and its ends
close up, encapsulating the fluids.

Your memory is a bit hazy. Earthworms lie head to tail with the
male pores of one opposite spermathecal pores of the partner (and visa
versa).

I'll quote one of the bits you left out of my reply:

Worms are hermaphrodites, and they lie together 'top-and-tail', secured,
IIRC, by each squeezing under the clitellum of the other. (The short
'sleeve' about a third the way from the front.)


Sperm is exchanged and they go their own happy ways. Later over
periods weeks or months, each worm secretes a cocoon from the clitellum,
The worm retreats out of the cocoon, depositing into it ova (eggs) and
sperm from the female and spermathecal pores respectively. Fertilization
takes place in the cocoon but, although several ova are deposited only
since worms have been seen to emerge.

I take it you mean single, not 'since'? I've been potting up some things
in once-used compost and have a plethora of these eggythings. I'll pot
some up in isolation and see what emerges, and how many of them.

I don't think they're slugs' eggs and they are certainly not snails'
eggs, and in the habitat of a flower-pot that doesn't leave room for
much else.

I'm laying odds - but not eggs........

......or coccoons.

Of course, there are some worms that don't bother with meeting
up with another worm and just produce cocoons from which identical
copies of themselves emerge. (Come to think of it I don't think anyone
has checked whether the offspring are completely identical at the DNA
level.)

It's not the same as cloning: the ova would still have to be fertilised,
and as the sperms and the ova only have half a set of chromosomes each,
but with several options for the lining-up of many genes I'd guess that
the chances of the parent giving rise to identical copies of itself
would be slim.

(Ref. another plaice: Where have you got to these days?)

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from Amynthas contains these words:
In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

I think they sound very like worm 'eggs'.

They don't sound like earthworm cocoons at all. Much more likely
to be arthropod or mollusc eggs or something added by the nursery that
supplied the plant. Looking back at the original description:

Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:
Cocoons are laid one by one as the worm moves through the soil,
not in masses. I've only found occasional ones, never great piles of
them.

If you look at my description of how they are formed, you'll see that
there is but one sphere full of fluid, which will mature into a lot of
tiny worms.

Yes, but the point was that the OP found a lot of them together, which
makes it less likely they were earthworm cocoons.


Of course, there are some worms that don't bother with meeting
up with another worm and just produce cocoons from which identical
copies of themselves emerge. (Come to think of it I don't think anyone
has checked whether the offspring are completely identical at the DNA
level.)

It's not the same as cloning: the ova would still have to be fertilised,
and as the sperms and the ova only have half a set of chromosomes each,
but with several options for the lining-up of many genes I'd guess that
the chances of the parent giving rise to identical copies of itself
would be slim.

I understood amynthas to mean that in some species the ova wouldn't have
to be fertilised - not totally unreasonable? Don't greenfly do something
similar?
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from Amynthas contains these words:
In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes

Whilst re-potting a miniature rose, I found a hell of a lot of these:
Cocoons are laid one by one as the worm moves through the soil,
not in masses. I've only found occasional ones, never great piles of
them.

If you look at my description of how they are formed, you'll see that
there is but one sphere full of fluid, which will mature into a lot of
tiny worms.

See below, 1 cocoon produces 1 earthworm even when there are
several ova in it. Some of the ova do not complete their development.

Your memory is a bit hazy. Earthworms lie head to tail with the
male pores of one opposite spermathecal pores of the partner (and visa
versa).

I'll quote one of the bits you left out of my reply:

Worms are hermaphrodites, and they lie together 'top-and-tail', secured,
IIRC, by each squeezing under the clitellum of the other. (The short
'sleeve' about a third the way from the front.)

The clitellum is not critical in the exchange of sperm. What is
important is that the male pores (on one of the segments about 15 - 18
depending on family) are lined up with the spermathecal pores (on
segments about 5 - 8 according to species and family).

Sperm is exchanged and they go their own happy ways. Later over
periods weeks or months, each worm secretes a cocoon from the clitellum,
The worm retreats out of the cocoon, depositing into it ova (eggs) and
sperm from the female and spermathecal pores respectively. Fertilization
takes place in the cocoon but, although several ova are deposited only
since worms have been seen to emerge.

I take it you mean single, not 'since'? I've been potting up some things
in once-used compost and have a plethora of these eggythings. I'll pot
some up in isolation and see what emerges, and how many of them.

Just make sure there are no earthworms in the compost (they can
be very small an elusive) and that there is no way for an earthworm to
get into the compost, 10 minutes in a microwave should be sufficient to
sterilise it. Then seal the pot completely in cling film. Come to think
of it, what ever hatches out will be difficult to see, so use only s bit
of damp blotting paper in a glass jar and check it daily.

I don't think they're slugs' eggs and they are certainly not snails'
eggs, and in the habitat of a flower-pot that doesn't leave room for
much else.

Well 20 years of experience as a research scientist working on
earthworms tells me that they are not earthworm cocoons.

.....or coccoons.

Of course, there are some worms that don't bother with meeting
up with another worm and just produce cocoons from which identical
copies of themselves emerge. (Come to think of it I don't think anyone
has checked whether the offspring are completely identical at the DNA
level.)

It's not the same as cloning: the ova would still have to be fertilised,
and as the sperms and the ova only have half a set of chromosomes each,
but with several options for the lining-up of many genes I'd guess that
the chances of the parent giving rise to identical copies of itself
would be slim.

That was probably a bit loosely worded. What I meant was that
there was only a single parent involved.

(Ref. another plaice: Where have you got to these days?)

Lots of places, mainly up in the Dales (and underneath them).
But very little time to read newsgroups.
--
Amynthas