Photography can be a curse.

I go back to visit and collect one observation to collect it finally after over a year of observing it. It's a cordyceps fungi attacking a spider. What I haven't noticed is that it's perched on a dead maple branch. How do I know what dead wood it is, you ask? Well that's not because I am some tree guru, I am not, but rather it's because there is a very familar (to me) mushroom associated with the tree. It's anamorphic spikes stud the entire branch. I am sure it's in my observations somewhere. It's telemorph is Durandiella, and I'm not sure what species despite having gained access to the paper with the key. Somebody contacted me from the Farlow and wanted a sample of it, but they put me off until after Christmas break and apparently forgot, so they still don't have it, and I sort have shelved it both figuratively in my brain and literally. So anyway, I take a 4 stacks with my fancy Panasonic Lumix DMC G85 and Olympus 60mm Macro lens and they have all turned out nicely. I collect the specimen. I was rushing so I tried to collect the bark underneath, but didn't cut it out nicely and the spider falls off it cleanly into my hand.

So when I get home to stack the pics I notice a tiny brown cup that is growing on a few of the shriveled cup clusters of the Durandiella at the hind leg region of the spider. I now am forced to wonder all week if it is elsewhere on the bark as I am afraid that bark hit the forest floor and can never be found again. Or maybe I wait longer: as it's not on my regular route, and the woods has been recently logged so it's unattractive otherwise, except for that recently logged woods fungi ;) The whole branch is covered with the stuff, but the anamorph outnumbered the cups as I saw it. Plus, there was also only one tick crawling on my when I got out of there! Definitely need to bring in the dissecting scope for some nicer pictures to put on here if I do indeed find it.

Publicado el mayo 3, 2018 11:40 MAÑANA por fungee fungee

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