David

The amount of pollen in the pollen baskets casts doubt on whether this bee would have been able to carry it all back home, but still she kept gathering more.

Growing almost to eye level in the field behind Compton lock on the Staffs and Worcs canal.

Its watchful position in the middle of a small reed bed gave this heron the confidence to ignore the constant stream of people along the towpath on the opposite bank of the Staffs and Worcs canal.

This mushroom was growing on a pile of wood chips which appeared to have been dumped on a grassy verge.

The view across the lowest pool in Baggeridge Country Park on 12th October.

Geastrum triplex, to give it its official name, is one fungus which would be missed by someone just on the lookout for the classic toadstool shape.

This one disperses its spores through the hole visible in the centre.

This post, along with the harlequin ladybird and the dead man’s fingers, with thanks to the Wildside Activity Centre Fungi Foray, led by Sue Shanks.

This butterfly was resting on a hawthorn branch on 26th September.

Yet another fungus with no resemblence to the stereotype of the toadstool shape.

Xylaria polymorpha can indeed be imagined as long-decayed human fingers. Found on fallen and rotten wood.

This north American species is, by some accounts, threatening to displace the various European species.

This one seems to be under attack by the much smaller aphids, which are in reality its prey.

Armillaria mellea are very variable in appearance. A common fungus, which lives off trees.

Once the fungus gets established, it throws out a whole cluster of fruiting bodies near the base of the trunk. It is always fatal for the tree.