We would like to measure the nutrient composition of flea eggs laid in a petri dish. However, we have two main problems: 1) Three of the four flea species we work with lay sticky eggs which makes it almost impossible to remove the eggs without damaging it, and 2) Female fleas dump "blood spots" in the petri dish which could contain varying levels of nutrients itself. Therefore, we can't wash all the eggs out of a petri dish as it will result in biased measurements.
Dear Dr. Mescht,
I think you can try two methods:
1) Try to grease the Petri dish with silicone oil.
2) Spray fine and washed grains of sand on the surface of the plate. A thin layer would be sufficient. The eggs will stick to the grains and could be collected for processing. I think the sand would not interfere with the extraction of nutrients from the eggs.
Best wishes,
Nelder
May be useful to look at this web: http://www.petmd.com/dog/parasites/what-flea-dirt
we can use pieces of small paper or wooden powder in petridish before putting vigour female.
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