Category: David

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.

This ladybird was resting on a leaf way back on September 10th.

Autumn is definitely coming when the hawthorn berries take on their full red brightness.

What has eight legs and isn’t a spider?

Lots of creatures, actually. This harvestman is indeed an arachnid, but nevertheless not a spider.

The shaggy parasol, lepiota rhacodes, is one of the most distinctive of the toadstool-shaped fungi.

This specimen had only recently emerged. If it is not disturbed, the cap will flatten as it grows, eventually spreading out to as much as six inches wide while keeping the flaky appearance.

Another inkcap species. Coprinus micaceus gets its official name because the new toadstools, as here, appear to be sprinkled with flecks of mica.

This specimen was growing unnoticed on a tree stump within inches of a kerb.

This linarea vulgaris was thriving on a patch of overgrown ground overlooked by the bridge where the trains heading north from Wolverhampton first cross the Birmingham canal.

This grey squirrel was leaping around in the grounds of Bantock Park like it was still full of the joys of spring.

The cow parsley or hogweed, Anthriscus sylvestris, is normally a summer-blooming plant. This specimen, on the edge of Valley Park, still had fine flowers when these pictures were taken on October 1st.

A closer view of inkcaps already posted here. The picture above is of the newest mushroom, which has a surface still covered in fine white hair-like structures.

The other picture shows the second-newest, with the rim of the cap already marked by the ongoing deliquescence.

These are probably coprinus lagopides, a reasonably common inkcap, though one without a vernacular name. Alternatively, it may be the less frequently encountered coprinus lagopus.

This is a common fungus which grows directly from the trunks of birch trees.
The specimen here was one of many fruiting bodies growing from a fallen rotten birch in a former railway cutting in Valley Park. Possibly the rot was caused by this fungus, which is responsible for the loss of many birch trees.

This fungus is also known as the birch polypore. It was pure white when it first appeared a couple of days ago. The visible parts can survive for up to a year, gradually getting more darkly brown.

Piptoporus betulinus was used to sharpen old-fashioned cut-throat razors. Hence the name.

Sometimes it is possible to see wildlife without leaving the comforts of home.

This Golden Y moth (or is it one of the other Y species?) had flown into the house overnight.

Picture taken 23rd September.