August miscellany

The fungal season is almost upon us, and I'll have to swap in that part of my brain again. Fungi are, of course, with us all year round, but autumn is the time of year when most of the larger fungi begin to appear. Panaeolus sphinctrinus grows on dung...this was on a pile of horse-dung that I've been monitoring for perhaps two weeks. I'd expect to find some Coprinus sp. on it soon.

The chequered surface of this leaf mine leads us immediately to Phyllonorycter ( a family of tiny micromoths), and this is on Beech, with a single fold in the lower surface, so we are left with Phyllonorycter messaniella.

The fold decreases the area of the lower leaf, curling it and leaving the upper side with a bubble for the moth to move around in. The fold can clearly be seen in the lower picture.

This is the wonderful hoverfly Sphaerophoria scripta (female). These are very flighty, and good shots are rare.