Saturday, October 23, 2021

Flies and Fungi

The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) gets its name from the tradition of using this mushroom as an insecticide. In some European countries, caps are crumbled up and placed in saucers of milk to attract house flies. The flies drink the milk, which contains ibotenic acid that not only attracts flies but also poisons them. Certainly in the field, I haven't seen flies visiting Fly Agarics while other species are a great attraction. Sandy RSPB reserve had abundant fungi yesterday, including some very magnificent Parasols in the large meadow by the house.

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