Notocactus sellowii
Photo from my book, Splendor in Spines 5th edition, 2018 (self-published in limited quantities).
Cactus Tears and Frederick Sellow https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/mjpapay/87769-cactus-tears-friedrich-sellow-notocactus-sellowi
Metatrichia vesparia in a tiny landscape of young Ceratiomyx fruticulosa
Squirrel-stashed nut on porch. Tree must be nearby.
on my neighbor's fence posts red squirrel put two chicken fat mushrooms cap upside-down to dr y
Stink bug with smiley face :-)
Hedge Nettle Stink Bug on California Hedge Nettle (Stachys bullata) a.k.a. Wood Mint.
Hedge Nettle Stink Bug (Cosmopepla conspicillaris) is a flying True Bug in the Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs (Pentatomoidea) superfamily and Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae) family.
BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Cosmopepla+conspicillaris
Stink Bugs (Family Pentatomidae) Stink bugs are among the most easily recognized True Bugs, because of their fairly consistent five sided outline. The triangular scutellum is large, extending about half the length of the wings, and is narrowed apically. Their presence is often noticed by a characteristic, powerful odor from a fluid ejected from ventral thoracic glands when the bugs are disturbed. They are fairly strong flyers, but primarily rely on cryptic coloration and sedentary behavior to escape detection. The majority are plant feeders. There are about 50 species of stink bugs in California.
Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020, Stink Bugs (Pentatomidae) Family p. 122.
Anatomy of the dorsal aspect of a Shield Bug: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47743-Pentatomoidea
BugGuide: Arthropods: Photos of Insects, Spiders & Their Kin (US & Canada), clickable categories or use search bar (scientific name): https://bugguide.net/node/view/3/bgpage
Stink Bugs (Family Pentatomidae)
"Pentatomids are generally called "shield bugs" in British English, or "stink bugs" in American English. The name "Pentatomidae" is from the Greek pente meaning "five" and tomos meaning "section", and refers to the five segments of their antennae. However, the term "shield bugs" is also applied broadly to include several related families.
All pentatomids have 5-segmented antennae, and 3 tarsal segments on each foot. They generally have a large triangular scutellum in the center of the back. The body shape of adult pentatomids is generally "shieldlike," when viewed from above, but this varies between species, and is not true for the immature nymphal stages. The forewings of stink bugs are called hemelytra, with the basal half thickened while the apex is membranous. At rest, the wings are laid across the back of the insect, with the membranous wingtips overlapping. The hindwings are entirely membranous." https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47742-Pentatomidae
After a bit of chocolate.
From culture, grown on miscellaneous herbaceous stems.
egg found in yard under large silver maple tree,
2"
We weren't able to get an identification on this crane fly, but it was so cool looking, maybe someone will know.
Woody nodules caused by the fungal pathogen Diaporthe c.f. caryae on bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis).
All of the nodules we found were being decomposed by Marasmius rotula (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/175420323).
Normal ones everywhere in June 2017. The big one here is only a couple of cm tall. Hardwood stump. Mixed hardwoods. Maple, birch, ash, oak. Microscopy - spores approx 11.5-13.4 x 4.5-5.2.. Vouchered.
female, last pic is hols on top of an artist conk very close by
I'm curious about the crystals growing on the fruiting bodies, some that look like salt others that look like antennae. Are they unusual or what passes for normal on slime mold?
Fruiting on a fallen Douglas fir branch.
Fruiting bodies: Brain like, clear gelatinous creamy toned-but firm/hard(very unlike Dacrymyces sp).
Harvested 2 specimens.
Carefully removed a small portion of outer tissue and crush mounted on a glass slide in 3% KOH.
Spores: Globose to subglobose with many fused together and attached to long trailing jellyfish tentacle like strands/apiculus like projections.
Size: Very large.
Thoroughly dehydrated both specimens and bagged for herbarium collection/genetic record.
My coinciding Mushroomobserver observation below-
Huntington Beach Central Park
Densely gregarious on cut and split firewood logs of Acer saccharum and Betula papyrifera left in a pile for a year
D. Malloch 18-10-23/01
In the herbarium of the New Brunswick Museum
Basidiospores 3.9-5.1 x 2.0-2.6 µm, Q = 1.72-2.11 (average[51]: 4.4 X 2.3, Q = 1.92)
Pictures:
1) Fruiting bodies on the end of a birch log
2) Fruiting bodies on the end of a maple log
3) Same log as #2 but photographed in the dark to show bioluminescence
4) Scan of fruiting bodies
5) Cross section of a fruiting body showing gills. The tips of the gills have cheilocystidia with entrapped gummy material. The blisters on the sides are developing masses of cystidia.
6) Cross section of gill in Windex showing cheilocystidia at the tip and the blister-like protuberance at the upper left
7) Cross section of gills in KOH + Congo Red showing cheilocystidia and gummy material
8) Cheilocystidia in KOH + Congo red. These have protuberances, but have not yet proliferated
9) Highly branched and proliferated older cheilocystidia
10) Surface tissues of the cap (pileipellis)
11) Hypha from the flesh of the cap in KOH + Phloxine showing the pink-stained cell contents and strongly swollen gelatinous cell wall
12) Basidiospores from a spore print in Melzer's Solution
13) Basidiospores from spore print in KOH + Congo Red
This observation is for the 3 blue insects on the right in the photo.
This is for the grayish ones on the upper left: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196300240.
On white pine. Bleeding disappears within few minutes and the crust won't bleed again on the same spot! Pine Barrens.
Maybe c. Nebulatis. In a massive fairy ring, maybe a 100-foot line of mushrooms. The smell was pretty bad. Like rancid olive oil and flour. Growing on the edge of the bog.
Found in my yard on the bottom of a big redwood stump covered with lichen. It has a little bellybutton on the cap center and decurrent gills. It has the omphalinoid shape and stature.
smells like deer musk, wonder if this is naturally occurring or if it is a substance that is applied to trees to attract deer for a hunt
on the trail that follows the ridge of the quarry.
Peat dome. Wet mixed hardwood-conifer forest.forested. fruiting
Eating a Mushroom
Substrate. Dead pine (Pinus taeda/Loblolly Pine)
Habit. Few
Texture. Rubbery
Odor. None
FYA-20230908-01
Oh what a wonderful find! Smell a bit like bread.
I've known this rabbit since it was very young, and it has also known me for all that time. Even so, it is entirely wild, so it was rather remarkable when it hopped right in front of me to nibble the fruits of Hydroctyle sibthorpioides growing below the Japanese Maple. Enchanting.