a few tinies for help.

[diggleken]

Hi all, a few from yesterday/today that have me somewhat confused, so grateful for any help, steer etc, as ever.
And just to add, saw a grey squirrel this morning munching some Honey fungus - it ate some from the cap, liked it then clawed it all up and took it off to a safer place, never seen them eat mushrooms before - anyone else seen that behaviour?
anyway, to business, this on rotting down oak, pinhead size:

this on deciduous, even smaller, delicatula integrella or similar?

Another, different maybe delicatula again, but they look different.............

And this crust, maybe byssomerulius corium?

and a rubbish shot, very, very tiny, could be what was a feature species this morning on WAB, Hemitrychia calyculata?

Thanks a lot
Cheers
Ken

[flaxton]

I think no 2 could be Mycena hiemalis and 3 could be your Delicatula.

Mal

[diggleken]

Thanks a lot Mal, certainly hiemalis looks very close, looking on bioimages, with that stem texture and cap - and I was more strongly with delicatula on the later one, so thats good.
Oh - and could the first be Lachnellula subtillissima anyone?
Cheers
Ken

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by diggleken

Oh - and could the first be Lachnellula subtillissima anyone?
Cheers
Ken

it certainly could - were it not for the fact that it is relatively long-stalked and is not surrounded by shaggy hairs!

see: Nature photography by Dragisa Savic

it's a Hymenoscyphus could be one of several - spore size is critical

cheers

Chris

[stickman]

Hi Ken

With regards to the myxomycete - You're not far off but it could well be Trichia decipiens; to separate the genera Trichia & Hemitrichia you need to carefully examine the capillitium under the microscope.

Cheers, Nick.

[diggleken]

Originally Posted by stickman

Hi Ken

With regards to the myxomycete - You're not far off but it could well be Trichia decipiens; to separate the genera Trichia & Hemitrichia you need to carefully examine the capillitium under the microscope.

Cheers, Nick.

Thanks Nick - I'll see if theyre still there next weekend and have a closer look.
I see what you mean from that link Chris, bit stalky then, so just to genus level at this stage, but ta again.
They were very pretty!
So that just leaves the mushroom eating squirrel question!
Cheers all
Ken

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by diggleken

So that just leaves the mushroom eating squirrel question!
Cheers all
Ken

Yes, squirrels like their mushies, it is a very important food source for them.
Although this is about red squirrels, from the Forestry Commission website Forestry Commission - Red Squirrels:

'Diet
Red squirrels are seed eaters. They favour pine cones, but also eat larch and spruce. Their diet also includes fungi, shoots and fruits of shrubs and trees, and sometimes birds' eggs. They can choose between good and bad nuts by holding them in their paws. Reds do not hibernate and store fungi in trees to eat over the winter months. When food is plentiful, they put on weight in the autumn to help them through the winter. This is important for breeding females, so that they are in good condition for producing young.'

I've highlighted one sentence - I didn't know they stored them ... maybe they are good at drying them ... So instead of looking at the ground perhaps we should be looking for ready dried ceps high up in the trees . Come to think of it, I did find a bolete halfway up a tree, which I assumed had been carried there by a squirrel.

Melanie

[diggleken]

Thanks Melanie, most interesting, behaviour not seen by me before - as Mammals, I wonder if they are as susceptible as us to poisonous species and can differentiate - mine was noshing on edible honey fungus. Sounds like a good basis for a doctorate thesis.
Cheers
Ken