Valentine’s Day or not, Veronica serpyllifolia (more commonly known as thyme-leaf speedwell) don’t need no other flower. She’s a strong, independent plant and she’ll pollinate herself, thankyouverymuch. Check out this steamy self-fertilization action, yowsa! This video won first prize in Nikon’s Small World in Motion Video Competition for 2025, captured at 5x magnification.
The image for today’s gif was captured by Michigan resident Jay McClellan, the same photographer that took the blooming crystal imagery from yesterday’s gif. McClellan is a retired industrial machine vision systems developer. He has carried his expertise in capturing and processing manufacturing images at high-speed from a manufacturing perspective to applying his skills in natural photography. For this pollination video, he programed a custom motion-control system to keep the reproductive structures perfectly in frame and used advanced focus-stacking techniques to maintain crispness across focal planes. This led him to develop his own hardware and software for microscopic video. He explains “I may capture many terabytes of raw footage for a single shot. Running the focus-stacking overnight is like waiting for Christmas morning—you never know whether you’ll get a disappointment or something amazing.”
Thyme-leaf speedwell is a very common plant, growing throughout most of the US, Europe and Asia. It is generally considered a weed. Although the white and purple flowers that bloom in spring and early summer are lovely, they are often unnoticed owing to their tiny size, about 6mm in height. McClellan’s work puts renewed focus on a largely overlooked little gem with an amazing biological adaptation.
The source for today’s gif is linked here, on Nikon’s website.
Fooled me! These little ones grow in my yard. Didn't recognize it until the end.
Always a pleasure Martini.
"...self-fertilization..."? Did I just watch some kinky porn and I am now going to hell even though I don't believe in it? Damn, Martini, well done. As always thank you for making my day.