Paxton's Small Fungi and Slime Moulds

 Very enjoyable walk with Ann and Mike at Paxton on a Slime mould hunt, which proved successful with one definite species and possibly a second one. Ann found an extensive colony of the green Elf Cup. Amazing how many small creatures also lived on rotting logs including Collembolids as on the first image, the appropriately named Winter Moth and Centipedes. When we looked hard at the mossy areas ther were small toadstools still present. Light was poor and images handheld so not great quality!

Change of Fungi Species at Paxton

Not quite as many fungi as 3 weeks ago but several different species now showing like the White Saddle and the Jelly Rot, Phlebia tremellosa. I was using my Fuji compact camera with the Raynox  auxilliary lens which isn't ideal for the smaller objects such as the Flies  but does a good job on the wider views. A couple of large patches of the shaggy Pholiota squarrosa and several other species!!

UV Reflectance in Fungi

I own a cheap full spectrum camera which I use without extra filters so it will be recording all the light around including UV ('normal' cameras have a UV filter that cuts out these wavelengths). I also have a UV torch (mainly sold for revealing rodents etc by their uv-fluorescent urine!). Yesterday I photographed fungi with extra illumination from the UV torch with the full spectrum camera (this renders foliage, fungi a greenish brown colour under daylight). The Sulphur Tufts are the most dramatic with the stems and caps reflecting different wavelengths. On other toadstools the effect is more subtle! One Clitocybe was fairly well advanced and it appears that the released spores and the gills themselves reflect different wavelengths when illuminated. (There are some fungi that actually emit UV light but I think these are mainly  foreign and would require a special and very expensive filter for the camera to block all wavelengths except ultraviolet). 

Fungi Photography Paxton

The numbers of fungi has increased since my last visit on Sunday with fruting bodies pushing through the leaf litter and coming out of logs, trunks and mossy areas throughout the reserve. Here are a few that I managed to identify - the first being my favourite -  Brown Cups (Rutstroemia firma) growing inside a Turkey Oak acorn cup. 

Paxton Pits Dragons etc

Fair number of  Migrant Hawkers, Ruddy  and Common Darters, and Willow Emeralds  at Paxton yesterday. This Scorpion Fly obligingly stayed for some time as a photographic model feeding on Ant Damsel Fly. Not sure if the short-winged moth is a common variant of the Turnip Moth or an incomplete emergence. Still lots of Wasp Spiders. I also spent a bit of time trying to get flight shots of the Bee Mimic fly (Eristalis intricaria)