White specks in Lake Michigan - Ask Extension
Hello!
This morning (6/9), I went for a long walk from South Haven's North Beach north, and back. All along the waterline were little white specks. T...
Knowledgebase
White specks in Lake Michigan #872273
Asked June 09, 2024, 11:51 AM EDT
Hello!
This morning (6/9), I went for a long walk from South Haven's North Beach north, and back. All along the waterline were little white specks. They seemed uniform in size, were not moving, and seemed "smushy" when I tried to pick them up. Any idea on what this is? Some sort of spawning event? Basically, I think I want reassurance that I wasn't walking through some sort of lake lice that are now crawling under my skin. Thank you so much for this wonderful service! As I was walking, I was thinking, "Who would know about this?? I'll ask the extension office!"
(if this pictures didn't load successfully, please let me know)
Thank you
take care
Leah
Van Buren County Michigan
Expert Response
Hello there,
These photos are too far away and there is nothing present to get a sense of scale to figure out what these are. Apologies but I would not be able to identify the items in your images without closer photos and something for a sense of scale (if small enough maybe put in your hand?).
With that said there are a huge myriad of things that live in and can be around the lake. Even with a close photo it might not be possible to tell what they are without a microscope (if they are small, again no sense of scale for these items).
Here are some thoughts as to what they might be:
1) Spilled rice or other human food. These look like grains of rice that fell in the water, got saturated with water, and turned mushy. Or maybe it's some other human substance that fell in the water
2) Shed exoskeletons from an aquatic invertebrate. Many many species of insects live for years in the water before coming to the surface, shedding their skin, and metamorphosing into a flying terrestrial insect. Mosquitos, midges,flies, mayflies, and many many other insects can live for years in the water and are examples of possible skins left behind in the water.
3) Seeds or pollen from some terrestrial vegetation. Many land plants dump millions of pollen spores or seeds into the air and often they will land in the water and float, washing to shore in concentrated bands.
These are three total guesses and I really can not say what these objects are. If you can take a closer picture with a known size object for scale that could help. Or collect a sample and bring to your local DNR or university.
Best,
Elliot
These photos are too far away and there is nothing present to get a sense of scale to figure out what these are. Apologies but I would not be able to identify the items in your images without closer photos and something for a sense of scale (if small enough maybe put in your hand?).
With that said there are a huge myriad of things that live in and can be around the lake. Even with a close photo it might not be possible to tell what they are without a microscope (if they are small, again no sense of scale for these items).
Here are some thoughts as to what they might be:
1) Spilled rice or other human food. These look like grains of rice that fell in the water, got saturated with water, and turned mushy. Or maybe it's some other human substance that fell in the water
2) Shed exoskeletons from an aquatic invertebrate. Many many species of insects live for years in the water before coming to the surface, shedding their skin, and metamorphosing into a flying terrestrial insect. Mosquitos, midges,flies, mayflies, and many many other insects can live for years in the water and are examples of possible skins left behind in the water.
3) Seeds or pollen from some terrestrial vegetation. Many land plants dump millions of pollen spores or seeds into the air and often they will land in the water and float, washing to shore in concentrated bands.
These are three total guesses and I really can not say what these objects are. If you can take a closer picture with a known size object for scale that could help. Or collect a sample and bring to your local DNR or university.
Best,
Elliot
