Toft Wagtail, Insects and Lichens

A  cold wind but warm sunshine brought out a few insects and helped photographing the lichens in the churchyard - an ongoing project. I include 4 that are distinctive enough to identify with good certainty. The Pied Wagtail was busy displaying on the Village Hall roof.

UV Photography: Lichens and Spider

There are quite a few scientific studies on the UV-screening chemicals in lichen which absorb UV light and then emit it at a different wavelength. The interest varies from a pure research level to document the occurrence, to more practical application such as aids to ID of lichens and as possible help in the production of effective human UV sunscreens, important as our radiation levels increase. I photographed some of the lichens I collected locally and at Paxton Pits to monitor the variations in intensity and colours. I also photographed some spiders that were living in the lichens along with abundant Collembolids (too small for the lens I was using), This spider is a female Misumena vatia

 

Toft Wood Lichens

The high winds have brought down lots of branches from the trees in the wood, many encrusted with Lichens. Here some focus-stacked images first under normal white light and then under UV light. The first twig has a number of different species including Xanthoria parietina (bright orange under UV), Parmelia sp (grey green), Lecanora chlarotera etc. The second pair of images demonstrates how the UV fluorescence shows the margins between the species: here Lecanora chlarotera (brown caps),   Lecanora albella (pale cups), Lecidella elaeochroma black fruits and margin, 

Lichen Project

A rainy day yesterday so I thought I would continue with my lichen ID and UV fluorescence project. I had collected quite a few specimens and set about taking and photostacking images. Unfortunately my UV torch requires a new battery (not one I have a spare) but here are the ones I did manage. Now to identify them!!

UV Fluorescence in Lichens

I collected some different lichens during a conservation morning at Paxton Pits and photographed them with a macro lens using a UV torch. The UV light is absorbed into the subject and visible light is re-emitted at different wavelengths giving beautiful colours for with Xanthoria parietina (white light images on the right to compare) . The last two lichens (Usnea species and ?genus) did not fluoresce