• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: Sycamore leaves

Springtail and slime

17 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in fungi, insects, leaves

≈ Comments Off on Springtail and slime

Tags

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

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

Like this:

Like Loading…

Turning over a new leaf

07 Saturday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves

≈ Comments Off on Turning over a new leaf

Tags

fly larva, fly larva on Sycamore leaf, insects in leaf litter, Lauxaniidae, Lauxaniidae larva, leaf-turning, Sycamore leaves

During Wednesday’s walk I spent a little time turning over soggy Sycamore leaves in a small wooded area, hoping for hoverly larvae but just as keen to see what other miniscule beasties might be living in the leaf litter (there were loads). I thought I’d struck pay dirt with this find but was later advised by a hoverfly expert that this is, in fact, a fly larva, one of the Lauxaniidae family of small flies. I’d never really thought about fly larvae before and assumed, before this find, that they were all a bit like the wriggling white maggots you find on rotting meat, so this was a nice surprise. I will be turning over more leaves very soon.

230107 Lauxaniidae larva

Like this:

Like Loading…

About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

View Full Profile →

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Dead man’s fingers 3 July 2026
  • Beetle: Lagria hirta 2 July 2026
  • Sawfly: Abia fasciata 1 July 2026
  • A splendid jewelwing 30 June 2026
  • NFY: Ringlet 29 June 2026

From the archives

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Fellow Earth Stars!

  • Vito Prasad
  • shankar019
  • Rr
  • toure16
  • MalcolmSafechuck
  • MLLESHOPPING
  • Ric Holmes Wheelbuilding
  • Boys Will Be Boys Michael Jackson
  • evie h
  • Jillian
  • The New Renaissance Mindset
  • Hannes
  • aykutatila
  • Alison Moya
  • fadingfun2d25f7d4de
  • Geraldine Hughes
  • klindajames
  • Kana Smith
  • Caleb Cheruiyot
  • Luigi Spadorcia
  • Maria Vincent Robinson
  • Matthew James
  • UK Safari
  • samcoppard2
  • Danny @ DGPIX
  • boruma1977
  • FrankieWoodknob
  • famous65e373e926
  • Farida
  • The Michael Jackson Debate
  • Daniel Greenwood
  • Tammie Rogers
  • Louis Spadorcia
  • Fatima
  • Michael Jackson Facts
  • Strivemindz
  • shannon
  • pkster101
  • Jean Reiland
  • shillingt
  • Penny Bowers
  • debbiestevens084bd32238
  • joyfullycreation4f2bcb3356
  • 大阪のうめ吉
  • Robert Galpin
  • scotishhobbit
  • supernaturallyd92135e67a
  • lleuadwr
  • goateeironb98ef7f4ba
  • Bob Ramsak

Powered by WordPress.com.

Loading Comments...

    %d