Microscope Pictures of Hidden Lifeforms

These microscope pictures were taken by me with three different types of microscopes. The microscope cameras were connected to a laptop by a USB cable.

I am an amateur microscopist, so I don’t yet have the scientific names for some of the microscopic images shown, particularly the microscope pictures of pond water.

How I Took These Microscope Pictures

For making microscope images in my home lab, I use three types of microscopes. The first is a pocket microscope. The second is a handheld USB digital microscope. The third is a compound microscope with a camera attachment.

The pocket microscope is the Carson Microflip 100-250x with a cell phone attachment. I purchased the bundle with 2 sets of prepared slides, under $30 for all.

The USB microscope is an AmScope 50x to 500x digital microscope. It came with a stand, and attaches to the USB port on a computer. There is no eyepiece, so the only way to view specimens is through the computer.

The third microscope is a Swift compound microscope, model SW380T. This is a compound trinocular microscope with 40x to 2500x magnification. It came with a mechanical stage, and a 5MP camera.

For the latter two, I connected the microscope to a MacBook laptop and used the Photo Booth app to capture photos and videos.

Studying Pond Water Organisms with a Microscope

Of all the specimens I’ve examined under the microscope in my home lab so far, pond water is the most interesting to me. You can use these specimen images for kids to get them interested in science.

Some of the lifeforms that can be seen in a pond water sample include bacteria, protozoa, algae, rotifers, ciliates, diatoms, cyanobacteria, water fleas called Daphnia, hydra, nematodes, and water mites.

Detailed Microscope Images of Pond Organisms

Visit the YouTube link to see them all in action in the video.

See the diatoms in action in the Pond Water Under Microscope video on my YouTube channel:

Under the Microscope: Human Hair Examination

Under the microscope you can study the condition of the hair shaft, cuticle layers, and medulla.

If a hairbrush is used by everyone in the family, you'll see an assortment of colors and conditions. Notice that some of the hairs in this sample are transparent. Those came from a gray-haired person.

It is possible to distinguish animal hair from human hair by examining the cuticle patterns.

Fiber examination can tell us whether the specimen is natural (plant or animal) or synthetic.

The first two hair pictures were taken with the Amscope digital USB microscope. The others were taken with the Swift compound microscope.

Examining Various Fibers Under the Microscope

In dryer lint, along with fibers, you might also find hair. In vacuum cleaner dirt you will find fibers from carpet, clothing, hair, skin, and soil.

Crime scene evidence is sometimes gathered by vacuuming to collect fibers and hair. Individual fibers can then be compared to reference samples. For example, evidence collected from a suspect might match evidence collected from a crime scene.

Some clothing is made from animal fibers, such as cashmere, wool from sheep and alpacas. You can tell if a fiber is from an animal by looking for a cuticle pattern.

Other clothing fibers might be natural, like cotton and bamboo, others might be nylon, rayon, or polyester.

Prepared Slides and Other Microscope Pictures

These images were taken on a cell phone attached to a pocket microscope.

Prepared slides come in sets, and may be from insects, tissue samples, or plants. The first two below, are from an insect set. 

The next two pictures are examples of what might be used by coin collectors to grade coins.

About The Microscope Pictures