Springtail and slime

17 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in fungi, leaves, insects

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slime mould, slime, springtail, British springtails, insects on Sycamore, Sycamore leaves, Dicyrtomina ornata, slime on Sycamore leaf, leaf litter

My most recent leaf-diving session in my favourite slimy Sycamore leaf spot turned up these two tiny treasures. This first is a miniscule springtail with a very hairy bottom which I think is Dicyrtomina ornata. There is another very similar springtail, Dicyrtomina saundersi, but that has distinct orange patches on its antennae and I’m not seeing that in my photos of this little critter.

230217 springtail

The second treasure was a lovely bit of slime, which may or may not be Metatrichia floriformis. Slime moulds can be tricky to identify accurately and I’m well out of practice.

230217 slime

Coral slime

15 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, trees

≈ 4 Comments

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British slime moulds, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, Coral slime, slime mould, slime mould on dead tree

While out walking on Wednesday I spotted this large expanse of something white on the side of a huge old fallen tree and, of course, I had to investigate.

211015 ceratiomyxa fruticulosa (1)

As I got closer, I realised it was the slime mould Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, a mass of tiny translucent white tubes, often branched, clustered together like terrestrial coral or sea anemones.

211015 Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa (2)

As this plasmodium stage of a slime mould often only lasts a day or two, the timing of my walk was very lucky indeed.

211015 Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa (3)

Wolf’s milk update

02 Friday Jul 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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British slime moulds, Lycogala slime mould, Lycogala terrestre, slime mould

You might remember that on 18 June I blogged about Wolf’s milk, one of the Lycogala species of slime moulds, and noted that I couldn’t positively identify it until I saw the colour of its spores. Well, I’ve been back to recheck these slime balls. They took a bit of finding, as the dense tree canopy of the woodland makes the area quite dark and their change of colour as the slime balls have matured made them blend in with the log they were growing on, as you can see below.

210702 Lycogala terrestre (1)

The good news is that I have been able to identify them. I ‘popped’ one – not a bad thing for the slime as this released its spores for distribution – and found the spore colour to have a pinkish hue, which confirmed the species as Lycogala terrestre.

210702 Lycogala terrestre (2)

Wolf’s milk

18 Friday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi

≈ 3 Comments

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Lycogala slime mould, Lycogala sp., slime mould, Wolf's milk

Two species of the slime mould Lycogala can be found in Britain, Lycogala epidendrum and Lycogala terrestre, and it’s only possible to distinguish one from the other by checking the colour of their spores, grey and pink respectively. To do that I’d need to revisit these lovely globules of Lycogala in a week or so – I’ll try to remember, and update this post accordingly.

210618 wolfs milk

Both Lycogala species are commonly known as Wolf’s milk, though I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps someone thought the orange-pink substance they secrete when poked resembled the milk of wolves? North American’s apparently call it Toothpaste slime, which makes me glad I don’t use their brands of toothpaste!

321/366 Springtails and slime

16 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in fungi, insects

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Comatricha nigra, Comatricha slime mould, Dicyrtomina saundersi, fungi on rotting wood, Neanura muscorum, slime, slime mould, springtail, Trichia persimilis, Trichia slime mould

Springtails and slime, a colourful combination, currently to be found on and under many old branches and rotting logs, in a saturated woodland near you, right now!

201116 springtails and slime (1)

The orange slime is probably one of the Trichia species, possibly Trichia persimilis, and the white blobs on black sticks are one of the Comatricha species, perhaps Comatricha nigra.

201116 springtails and slime (2)

And the springtails? The brownish one with the hairy bottom is likely to be Dicyrtomina saundersi, and the blue-grey-coloured ones may be Neanura muscorum, but my photos are not good enough to make positive identifications.

201116 springtails and slime (3)

16/366 Beneath

16 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, molluscs, nature, winter

≈ 5 Comments

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Hairy snail, slime mould, slugs, springtail, under a log

When wet weather forces a change of plan, sometimes the only thing for it is to head to the woods and turn over some logs, because there’s never nothing to see under a log!

Two slugs, possibly even the same species despite their obvious colour differences.

Eggs? Those on the left might well be slug or snail eggs but the ones on the right were much smaller and seemed caught up in a web or perhaps just strands of slime. I didn’t poke them – didn’t want to disturb them – so I’m not sure of their texture.

200116 5 slime

A slime mould, though not as much slime as I was hoping for. Possibly one of the Trichia species, perhaps Trichia persimilis.

200116 8 springtail

A springtail, probably one of the Entomobrya species but I really needed a photo of its upper side to be able to confirm its identification.

200116 7 hairy snails

Hairy snails (Trochulus hispidus), I believe, as the only other hairy snail has a more conical shell. It always seems odd to me for a snail to have hairs … but odd is good, interesting, never boring!

338/365 Slime time

04 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, winter

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Comatricha nigra, Comatricha slime mould, slime, slime mould, slime mould on umbellifer stem

At this time of year, I am often caught out by curious passers-by, pulling dead umbellifer stems carefully out of the ground and, as I don’t wear my reading glasses when out walking, pushing up my other specs and pulling the stems very near to my face for close examination.

191204 comatricha nigra (2)

Most people walk quickly past with a hurried but cautious hello to the ‘mad woman’ but some, the braver or more curious, will dare to ask what I’m looking at. And after I show them the gorgeous little things I’ve found, I like to think they might actually, at some future date, pull up the odd stem themselves for a look.

191204 comatricha nigra (1) 191204 comatricha nigra (3)

I think these tiny lollipops are from the Comatricha family of slime moulds, possibly Comatricha nigra. They start off very light in colour, gradually darken to a very dark brown, almost black, before drying and crumbling to release their spores.

191204 comatricha nigra (4)

329/365 A nice bit of slime

25 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi, nature

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bramble, slime, slime mould, south Wales coastal path

One of the advantages of all the recent wet weather is that it aids the development of slime moulds.

191125 slime mould (1)

I found this lovely stuff on some small dead bramble twigs during today’s walk along the south Wales coastal path.

191125 slime mould (2)

It may be Mucilago crustacea but I can’t be sure about that identification.

191125 slime mould (3)

18/365 A slimy Friday

18 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, nature, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, Cogan Wood, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, slime, slime mould, slime on ivy leaf

It’s been wintery today, with a chill wind and frequent showers, but I rugged up and headed out for a stomp for the air and exercise. Cosmeston was almost empty of people and dogs, something unheard of on warmer days, and any wildlife was also keeping well under cover. So, I enjoyed a bimble in Cogan Wood, picking up logs, looking for insects and fungi, and I found this interesting slime mould growing on an ivy leaf.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

3/365 First slime of the year

03 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, Comatricha nigra, slime, slime mould, slime on umbellifer stem

I simply can’t resist a nice slime. So, during today’s walk along the Penarth to Lavernock coastal path, when I passed a place where I’ve found this particular slime before – it’s called Comatricha nigra, I checked the bottom of two or three old umbellifer stems before finding this superb specimen.