Locate the pericardial cavity which contains the heart and using the probe, carefully, remove the pericardium. This will expose the pericardial cavity and heart.
Open, exposing the heart and fluid around the heart.
Using the pipette, micropipette or eye dropper, remove and discard 1 or 2 ml of the hemolymph from the pericardial cavity. Repeat this process 2 more times as the pericardial cavity refills with fluid.
Place one drop of the hemolymph on a glass slide, cover with a glass cover slip, and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. This will give the hemocytes time to settle onto the slide and spread their pseudopodia
Place the slide on the microscope stage and focus on the sample under low power (10X)
A variety of movement will be observed from small particles (Brownian movement) and microscopic organsims.
Step up the magnification and focus on an area with a few hemocytes (20X, 40X).
