Maggots!

[Jim Ford]

You may find the following true tale amusing:

A disused airfield was attached to the place where I used to work, and in the autumn one of the older employees used to go out on it at lunchtime, and come back with a bag of mushrooms. Another employee was very impressed by this and eventually asked to accompany him on his foraging - and he duly came back pleased with _his_ bag of mushrooms.

Employee number 2 came in the next day and said that as he and his wife were frying the mushrooms, lot of maggots came wriggling to the surface - and his wife staggered off and was sick in the bathroom. When this was told to employee number 1 he said "Oh yeah - I just flip them out of the pan with a spatula!".

(Neither of the employees was me!)

How do you deal with maggots in fungi - do you flip them out with a spatula?

Jim

[NickCantle]

Good tale Jim

The way I deal with maggots is by not picking bad specimens in the first place! It's certainly not recommended to eat maggoty fungi, but if I'm really hungry i'll just carve out the bit with the maggots in. All keep Cep'ers here will know that process of taking inch by inch off of the stem to see how far the maggots have got up it and hopefully they will know that sigh of relief from when the holes disappear before the stem attaches to the cap

[timhale197200]

Yep!! Dont fancy maggoty fungi!! Only take young fresh specimins that the maggots have not got to yet!! Still, it's good story!

[poschiavanus]

I take the maggoty bits and put them in a plastic box and try and get them to turn into flies (or ichneumons). Unfortunately when I succeed they're usually beyond my skills to ID, certainly much beyond family!

poschiavanus

[Hedge Witch]

That certainly is an interesting idea

[NickCantle]

Originally Posted by poschiavanus

I take the maggoty bits and put them in a plastic box and try and get them to turn into flies (or ichneumons). Unfortunately when I succeed they're usually beyond my skills to ID, certainly much beyond family!

poschiavanus

Stunning idea Posch, I'll have a go of that next time

[Dogghound]

Likely to be a member of the following familys if that would help poschiavanus, Sciaridae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Bolitophilidae and Mycetophilidae. Not to sure about ichneumons though.

[NickCantle]

My Father asked me the other day how the maggots get into the bottom of the Ceps, the part that's rooted rather firmly into the ground. I'd be interested to see a process of the Maggot, Fly and Fungi circle. Is there anyone who would enlighten me or pass me on to someone/something that would hold information on it?

Nick

[poschiavanus]

Not to forget the beetles, and Drosophilids like Leucophenga, or the famous Agathomia wankowiczi, a flat-footed fly. The real problem is that they're very small, and I don't have a stereo microscope. Mind you I assume they're mainly genitalia jobs, so I'd need a compound one too. Eventually, but by then I might just be interested in the fungi!

The Dipterists Handbook has an interesting list of flies and fungal associations.

[NickCantle]

Originally Posted by poschiavanus

Not to forget the beetles, and Drosophilids like Leucophenga, or the famous Agathomia wankowiczi, a flat-footed fly.

Ah yes, that one I know. The galls of it are sometimes evident upon Ganoderma species.

EDIT: Just saw the link