Possible Fungal Sac of Some Sort (NS website)

PeteTheBloke · #1 (**permalink**) 29-03-2011, 07:25 PM

NewScientist The Last Word

This is a thread at the New Scientist Last Word website. I initially thought it was a spider's egg case, but now I'm wondering if it's some sort of fungal sac. It's hard to know whether it's animal, vegetable or fungal. There's normally someone at this forum who knows (in my experience).

flaxton · #2 (**permalink**) 29-03-2011, 10:22 PM

It looks a bit like Enteridium lycoperdon.

Mal

fairplay · #3 (**permalink**) 29-03-2011, 10:56 PM

When you consider that fungi are mostly water in consistency this sac would be too light, so I think it safe to rule out fungi.

And as this appears not to be attached to anything, i would rule out a slime mould as well.

We only have one silk moth in this country i believe, and that is the Emperor - but their egg cases look nothing like this and the habitat is wrong as well.

That's my twopenny's worth for what it's worth.

Neil.

FungiJohn · #4 (**permalink**) 29-03-2011, 11:21 PM

I'd go with an insect egg, just don't ask me what kind

John

Chris Yeates · #5 (**permalink**) 30-03-2011, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

I'd go with an insect egg, just don't ask me what kind

John

agreed - not like a fungus at all - post on the invertebrates site I would suggest (not necessarily an insect, almost certainly an arthropod though)

Chris

PeteTheBloke · #6 (**permalink**) 30-03-2011, 08:14 AM

Yep. It's a tough one. I thought it looked silky, but it could be a particularly smooth wasps' nest, I suppose. The reason I thought of fungus was that it reminded me of a puffball and I wondered if they sometimes dried away to nothing but a skin without rupturing. It was a long shot

flaxton · #7 (**permalink**) 30-03-2011, 04:27 PM

Ok so it was a wrong suggestion but they are similar and there are lots appearing at the moment.

Mal

fairplay · #8 (**permalink**) 30-03-2011, 10:19 PM

Now that IS a very round one Mal, but I bet it goes SPLAT

if it was to come off and land on the ground (where I believe the original was found)

On the other hand, somebody could have been curious, prised one off and left it in the grass by that pond - vee shall never know ! (but would they have been able to resist pushing their finger into it to see what gooey stuff was inside) ?

Neil.