Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

**********
Sounds like it's some kind of spawn but it cannot be frog or toad
pawn, - that's all I can
say, - they come along in Spring. Can you not rescue a lump of them
and hatch them out in the pond in isolation, perhaps in a big glass
flower vase with the pond water just below the rim and keep pouring in
fresh pond water now and then to freshen it up.
(Perhaps though, you may not want to bother).
Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year.. The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants and one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't want
to swing the old lantern!.)
Keep us posted, please, if you find any more gen on this.
Doug.
**********

**********

"Sally Thompson" wrote...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.


One of the freshwater Sponges perhaps?

--
Regards
Bob
in Runnymede, 17miles west of London, UK

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:30:18 +0100, "Doug."
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.

Sounds like it's some kind of spawn but it cannot be frog or toad
pawn, - that's all I can
say, - they come along in Spring. Can you not rescue a lump of them
and hatch them out in the pond in isolation, perhaps in a big glass
flower vase with the pond water just below the rim and keep pouring in
fresh pond water now and then to freshen it up.
(Perhaps though, you may not want to bother).

Thanks for the reply Doug - sorry for late response, have been out all
day at the Tenbury Agricultural Show. I do recognise frog and toad
spawn, and these are definitely not (apart from the time of year, as
you say). The idea of isolating some in the pond is quite a good one,
although there are masses there. We do want to bother if they are
animal rather than vegetable - our pond is intended to be a wildlife
one, and is geared to try to attract wildlife. I had wondered about
snails, although we have found snails eggs attached to weed at the
edge of the pond, and these are floating on the surface.

Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year.. The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants and one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't want
to swing the old lantern!.)
Keep us posted, please, if you find any more gen on this.

We had masses of frog spawn, and there must have been toad spawn
somewhere since we've found quite a few toads. We have certainly
spotted a fair number of little frogs and baby newts hiding in the
edges of the pond, and there are probably a number we haven't found -
there are quite a few hiding places for them. We also thought we saw
some tiny leeches in one of the ponds earlier in the year. I got my
hands out pretty sharpish as well!

If it's sunny tomorrow (phew! today!) I'll take a photo and post it on
our web site to see if anyone can identify it.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:31:17 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.


One of the freshwater Sponges perhaps?

I hadn't ever thought of that, Bob. I've now looked at Google images
for these, and I can see why you suggested them - but I don't think
they are. As I said to Doug I'll take a picture tomorrow and put it
on the web site to see if that helps identification.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:30:18 +0100, "Doug."
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like
green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net,
it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery.
It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know
what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a
haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the
season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.

Sounds like it's some kind of spawn but it cannot be frog or toad
pawn, - that's all I can
say, - they come along in Spring. Can you not rescue a lump of them
and hatch them out in the pond in isolation, perhaps in a big glass
flower vase with the pond water just below the rim and keep pouring
in
fresh pond water now and then to freshen it up.
(Perhaps though, you may not want to bother).

Thanks for the reply Doug - sorry for late response, have been out all
day at the Tenbury Agricultural Show. I do recognise frog and toad
spawn, and these are definitely not (apart from the time of year, as
you say). The idea of isolating some in the pond is quite a good one,
although there are masses there. We do want to bother if they are
animal rather than vegetable - our pond is intended to be a wildlife
one, and is geared to try to attract wildlife. I had wondered about
snails, although we have found snails eggs attached to weed at the
edge of the pond, and these are floating on the surface.

Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year.. The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants and
one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore
keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I
know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't
want
to swing the old lantern!.)
Keep us posted, please, if you find any more gen on this.

We had masses of frog spawn, and there must have been toad spawn
somewhere since we've found quite a few toads. We have certainly
spotted a fair number of little frogs and baby newts hiding in the
edges of the pond, and there are probably a number we haven't found -
there are quite a few hiding places for them. We also thought we saw
some tiny leeches in one of the ponds earlier in the year. I got my
hands out pretty sharpish as well!

If it's sunny tomorrow (phew! today!) I'll take a photo and post it on
our web site to see if anyone can identify it.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

In article , Sally Thompson
writes
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:30:18 +0100, "Doug."
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

There is another green alga in ponds which seems to tap a lot of air,
especially in hot weather and is like heavy transparent green very
irregular worms with lots of obvious air bubbles.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance?

snails eggs are a single blob of jelly about an inch long and 1/4 inch
wide on the underside of a leaf or on the wall of the pond.


Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year.. The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants and one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't want
to swing the old lantern!.)

The leeches you find in garden ponds feed on detritus or snails. There
is also one species that feeds on fish. You are not in the slightest bit
of danger from them. See Edward's earthworm page (leeches are a close
relative of earthworms)

http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

they are worth looking at with as much interest as any other bit of
wildlife.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 09:53:24 +0100, Kay
wrote:

In article , Sally Thompson
writes
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:30:18 +0100, "Doug."
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

There is another green alga in ponds which seems to tap a lot of air,
especially in hot weather and is like heavy transparent green very
irregular worms with lots of obvious air bubbles.

Kay, that sounds exactly right - and I would have thought they were
algae originally except for the "slitheriness" of them. They are
heavy, and lots of air bubbles as you say.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance?

snails eggs are a single blob of jelly about an inch long and 1/4 inch
wide on the underside of a leaf or on the wall of the pond.

Yes, these we have seen and put back if we pull them out by mistake.

Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year.. The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants and one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't want
to swing the old lantern!.)

The leeches you find in garden ponds feed on detritus or snails. There
is also one species that feeds on fish. You are not in the slightest bit
of danger from them. See Edward's earthworm page (leeches are a close
relative of earthworms)

I'm not particularly bothered by the little leeches - it was Doug
referring to the Jungle ones. I agree, we find absolutely everything
going on in there quite fascinating.

http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

they are worth looking at with as much interest as any other bit of
wildlife.

Thanks for the reference. I've looked at your earthworm page before
and will now go and do so again.


--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

"Sally Thompson" wrote in reply to my reply,

Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.


One of the freshwater Sponges perhaps?

I hadn't ever thought of that, Bob. I've now looked at Google images
for these, and I can see why you suggested them - but I don't think
they are. As I said to Doug I'll take a picture tomorrow and put it
on the web site to see if that helps identification.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.


Take a look at http://www.broadwaters.fsnet.co.uk/inverteb.htm especially
the Ciliates photo and the sponge one underneath.

--
Regards
Bob
in Runnymede, 17miles west of London, UK

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 18:09:45 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in reply to my reply,

Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.


One of the freshwater Sponges perhaps?

I hadn't ever thought of that, Bob. I've now looked at Google images
for these, and I can see why you suggested them - but I don't think
they are. As I said to Doug I'll take a picture tomorrow and put it
on the web site to see if that helps identification.
Thanks for your thoughts on this.


Take a look at http://www.broadwaters.fsnet.co.uk/inverteb.htm especially
the Ciliates photo and the sponge one underneath.

That's a fascinating web site, Bob - now bookmarked. What we have is
definitely nothing like the sponge, but it (they?) is a bit like the
Ciliates photo, except that the Ciliates are shown as a sort of clump,
and ours is more of a surface cover, leading me more to think, as Kay
suggests, that they must be algae. The photos unfortunately don't
give a scale.

I will try to get a picture up, failed today but will have a go
tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap

"Doug." wrote in message
...

"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 23:30:18 +0100, "Doug."

wrote:


"Sally Thompson" wrote in message
...
Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely
not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like
green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the
net,
it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery.
It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know
what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a
haystack.

I did wonder if it (they) were some kind of eggs attracting
algae -
could it be snail's eggs, for instance? It's a bit late in the
season
for some things. If they are eggs, I'll rush out and rescue
them
from the bucket. Otherwise I'll chuck it on the compost.

Sounds like it's some kind of spawn but it cannot be frog or toad
pawn, - that's all I can
say, - they come along in Spring. Can you not rescue a lump of
them
and hatch them out in the pond in isolation, perhaps in a big glass
flower vase with the pond water just below the rim and keep pouring
in
fresh pond water now and then to freshen it up.
(Perhaps though, you may not want to bother).

Thanks for the reply Doug - sorry for late response, have been out
all
day at the Tenbury Agricultural Show. I do recognise frog and toad
spawn, and these are definitely not (apart from the time of year, as
you say). The idea of isolating some in the pond is quite a good
one,
although there are masses there. We do want to bother if they are
animal rather than vegetable - our pond is intended to be a wildlife
one, and is geared to try to attract wildlife. I had wondered about
snails, although we have found snails eggs attached to weed at the
edge of the pond, and these are floating on the surface.

Any road up, - My frog and toad spawn did not arrive this year..
The
pond is a stagnant one but is a live entity with aerating plants
and
one
big waterlily, and even has a few small leeches in it, I therefore
keep
my hands out of the pond so that they will still remain small. I
know
all about leeches , - big 'uns.(Jungle... - say no more!, I don't
want
to swing the old lantern!.)
Keep us posted, please, if you find any more gen on this.

We had masses of frog spawn, and there must have been toad spawn
somewhere since we've found quite a few toads. We have certainly
spotted a fair number of little frogs and baby newts hiding in the
edges of the pond, and there are probably a number we haven't
found -
there are quite a few hiding places for them. We also thought we
saw
some tiny leeches in one of the ponds earlier in the year. I got my
hands out pretty sheepish as well!

If it's sunny tomorrow (phew! today!) I'll take a photo and post it
on
our web site to see if anyone can identify it.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap
********

Sorry. Sally!. I realise I overdid the bit about danger from any
leeches.
Though it is better to shun them, I have many times searched around the
bottom of the pond with shirt sleeves rolled right up, searching for
dropped articles.
Of course one would know almost immediately under our present
circumstances of the presence of any of the horrible blighters and take
action with a lit fag-end across its back but in the jungle you don't
know where the heck they have got to,on your person, consequently time
has passed
before you de-leech yourself so by then they are a horrid size.
BTW, NEVER pull one off. - use the fagend method but don't take up
smoking nicotine..
Cheers!,
Doug.

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 15:25:20 +0100, Malcolm
wrote:

In article , Sally Thompson
writes


Well, I don't know how else to describe it! This is definitely not
blanket weed (which I do recognise), but we have something like green
tapioca in one of our smaller ponds. If I scoop it up in the net, it
is surprisingly heavy and it is very jelly like and slithery. It/they
seem to have a few bubbles round them, as well. Does anyone know what
it is? I have tried a search, but it's like a needle in a haystack.

snip

I still think it may be the ciliate - called Ophrydium.

Have a look at:

http://www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/R152062.HTM

And click on any of the links "Colonies in pond" for pics.

The lumps, though staying on the bottom a lot of the time, can rise up
the water column and coat the surface.

To learn more about them, have a look at:

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/con.../ophrydiu.html

Malcolm, I have looked at these and I think you may be right (and Bob,
whose post I have snipped for brevity). Jelly balls is a very apt
description! I will have a closer look tomorrow - the heavy rain got
rid of quite a bit today.
Thanks for the info.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
bed and breakfast near Ludlow: http://www.stonybrook-ludlow.co.uk
Reply To address is spam trap