Wednesday 5 August 2009

Wednesday 5th.August 2009

Two days up on the Greensand Ridge , did not produce much wildlife , especially Day 1 , with drizzle for much of the day , and strimmers working , anything with any sense stayed well away . The only one that didn't was this moth that we disturbed in tall vegetation , upon which flew into the cab of the Land Rover , and settled on the windscreen , in front of the driver's seat . I should get this one right , if it is what I think it is , as Dean posted it a short while ago , Mother of Pearl . Settling on the windscreen allowed the light to pass right through the wings , giving a real pearl effect .
Today , whilst entering a field , I found a very large fungi of the Boletus family . This family do not have gills , but tubes on the underside of the cap . This one is Leccinum crocipodium-Yellow Cracking Bolete . The 35mm. film canister gives an idea of the size . There was another close by , but that had been well and truly chewed . It was then down to the heather patch across the road from our yard , to find something of interest . The first item was another posted by Dean recently , Amanita rubescens-The Blusher , like many of this family listed as poisonous . This shot shows the volva or sack that the stem emerges from , and this is indicative of the family .Quoting from my book 'Until you have had identifications double-checked , do not eat any of them (the family) or you may die' . The most notorious of the family is Amanita phalloides-Death Cap . I had to turn the tins whilst there , and was rewarded with an adult Grass Snake , an adult Slow Worm , and several of the tins housed Wood Ants , with adults , winged adults and eggs . Looking very much like Potatoes lying around , were large numbers of Scleroderma citrinum-Common Earth Balls .
Only other thing of interest , was a female Common Blue Damselfly , that posed nicely for the camera . More rain tomorrow , but I hope to get out for a while before it sets in .

2 comments:

ShySongbird said...

Fascinating yet again Greenie, I love fried mushrooms but definitely won't be sampling the fungi on your post! Lovely photo of the moth and damsel and thank you for visiting my blog and confirming my ID, I have of course credited you.

Anonymous said...

I reckon that`s the most my name as ever been mentioned. Thanks for the references, Greenie.

Mother of Pearls are really smart species. And a great photo, too.