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"Wheel animals" - On Rotifers.

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T he Phylum Rotifera  or wheel animals are funny yet cute looking little microorganism.        They are about 200-500 micrometers long and are generally found in moist soil, still waters or free flowing waters. They are detritivores and feed on bacteria, algae and decaying protozoans. They might be small but don't underestimate them! They have a well developed digestive system, reproductive system and even a nervous system consisting of a brain! Due to this they are considered  as animals.  One of their most unique characteristic is the crown of rotating cilia or the ' corona '. Lets learn a bit more on the digestive system of rotifers! The digestive system of rotifers consists of many complex organs some of them being the stomach and mouth! Lets go one by one! 1) Corona - The corona or the crown of the mouth is lined with cilia(hair like structures) as you have seen in the video.(Taken by me:)) The cilia vibrate and create a vortex of water that attracts food in its mou

Ants - Delicate tiny creature

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A nts are one the most common and unappreciated insects in the world. Ants are generally so small like the size of one piece of iron fillings. Though they are one of the smallest beings on earth which are actually visible, they have many beautiful and distinct varieties. Some have wings, some are yellow, some are brown, some have a velvet texture, etc. Ants live in colonies which are headed by the queen ant . These colonies consist of drones - the males and the worker bees - the females whose job is to search for food. Ants are really hardworking, don't judge them by their size, they work more than us for sure! Ants though being really tiny can carry up to 50 times their own bodyweight! Now lets dive in and and learn more about the ants... Ants or formicidae are common insects but they have many unique abilities and a very important role in the ecosystem. Ants like all insects have a hard outer covering called the exoskeleton that protects them. Ants have antennae which are typi

Onion peel - Epidermal cells

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  C ells are the smallest structural and functional unit of life. Cells are smaller than a grain of sand! But what do they do? As the definition suggests, they carry out all the processes in organisms such as growth and repair. Cells have multiple tiny - tiny cell organelles which help in various activities of the cell from carrying genetic material to synthesizing proteins and creating huge organisms such as us, Humans!     Some cells have a specific shape, due to a structura l  protein called cellulose present in the cell wall , like  plant cells and some don't  such as human cells. In t his blog lets dive into the plant  cell!  Plant cells  contain a cell wall  which gives  them their rigid  shape. They also contain  the plasma  membrane   through which the exchange of  materials  take  place. Cells contain a jelly like substance  called  the  cytoplasm which contain the cell organelles,  it is also  the site where all the chemical reactions of the  cell take place. Cells con