The call came in one morning in May: Could the Meadowlands CSI team (critter species identification) team identify a tiny mystery bug?

The CSI team, which operates out of the Meadowlands Environment Center’s Science Building, jumped at the opportunity.

After transferring the bug to a glass tube, they placed it under a microscope and photographed it with a smartphone. Diagnosis: a flea, as suspected.

More on the MEC here. (And a big thanks to J.J. Rusher of the MEC for the micro photography.)