Slime mould fruiting bodies. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the fruiting bodies (sporangia) of the slime mould Trichia decipiens var. olivacea. Each sporangium grows on a stalk or stipe from the main body of the organism. Some of the sporangia have burst, releasing spores (small orange spheres). The spores are associated with a mass of threads (the capillitium). Changes in the moisture content of the air cause these threads to wriggle, flicking spores into the air and helping them disperse. Slime moulds are not fungi, but a separate group with complex life cycles. Magnification: x17 at 6x6cm size.