Next day, armed with a spade, I took the boys down to do some 'excavation', and was astonished to see that a lot of the fungi had been pulled from the ground. They hadn't been eaten but there were very few with the caterpillar part still present so I'm puzzled.
Was the caterpillar broken off as the fungi was being pulled up? I tried pulling several very gently out of the wet ground and the caterpillar broke off every time, so I don't know how an animal could have been more successful.
Was the fungi pulled up just to eat the caterpillar?
What animal did it and how? Echidnas? Possums? Kangaroos? A bird?
Now a true naturalist or scientist would have gone back at night with a spotlight. Not me. I was already exhausted from sitting up too late to watch some mad bike riders race around Europe.
Was the fungi pulled up just to eat the caterpillar?
What animal did it and how? Echidnas? Possums? Kangaroos? A bird?
Now a true naturalist or scientist would have gone back at night with a spotlight. Not me. I was already exhausted from sitting up too late to watch some mad bike riders race around Europe.
2 comments:
I've been looking for Cordyceps gunniifor the last couple of months without success, looks as if I'd better get out into the bush again. We have another species up here too, the branched fruiting body is only a couple of inches tall, haven't found out the specific name yet. It's a great time for greenhoods too.
Hi Duncan
All of last week I looked for Cordyceps in the bush without success. The only place I have ever found it is on the edges of the bush under Black Wattle.
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