So, unlike most of my posts, I decided adding how I was able to take pictures of the mold shown below. Because the original light emitted from the microscope cannot penetrate through the mold unless it is squished between a slide, I used an illuminator to shine the top and sides of the mold for a clearer view of the actual mold form.
The first picture shown above displays the illuminator lighting from the sides while this is displaying the illuminator brightening the mold through the tip.
 |
| 40X illuminator |
Now for anyone wondering why mold has such a "hairy" appearance, the reason for this is because molds consist of hyphae which are thread-like filaments that form mycelium. Since there are so many hyphae creating mycelum, it ultimately looks as if it's a fuzzy ball. The next few pictures displays hyphae creating mycelium (the small "fluff-like" balls at the top).
 |
| 100X illuminator |
Now I was wondering why mold would form in tea but not in water. Since I left the tea inside my house to cool but also left the windows open, my guess is airborne spores came through the window and settled on the cooled down tea. Since there were likely some nutrients in the tea and there wasn't any competition, the molds began forming into the now large ball of fuzz.
 |
| 100X illuminator |
