Fungus Photos from Buttermilk Falls

Many thanks to Don Cox for the tour of his property, which includes not only woodland trails and open areas, but a marsh and beaver pond connected by the picturesque little falls.

Despite the different appearance of the caps, I think both of the following photos depict groups of Meadow Mushrooms (Agaricus campestris). As their name implies, this species favours open grassy places.

By far the most common species in the wooded areas are Big Laughing Gym (Gymnopilus spectabilis), the caps of some of these photogenic fungi exceeded 10 cm in diameter.

A lone cup fungus about 25 mm across, Peziza sp. (possibly Peziza repanda?) found growing near one of the groups of Honey Mushrooms. Many species of Peziza are difficult to distinguish from one another in the field.

The shore of the marsh was home to several Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria, var. formosa). The larger of the two mushrooms in the picture below was about 8 cm across, but some were much bigger, about the size of a large saucer.

Blewit (Clitocybe nuda) prefers higher, drier, more open places along the shoulder of the highway. It seems that chipmunks, squirrels and insects have been taste testing these mushrooms so they are a little rough around the edges. The picture can't do justice to the delicate violet color of the gills.

The ubiquitous Marasmius oreades shares the same grassy habitat as the Blewit. Often called the Fairy Ring Mushroom, the common name can be confusing as this species doesn't always form rings, and other kinds of mushrooms can and do grow in rings.

Striped Fishing Spider (Dolomedes scriptus)

A somewhat atypical specimen, as the patterns of Striped Fishing Spiders generally don't contrast to this degree, and the dark areas of most individuals are more brown than black. This immature female had a body length of about 6 to 8 mm.

A photo of a similarly colored Striped Fishing Spider can be found at the magickcanoe.com Blog ... close encounters with Dolomedes spiders.

Confusing Fall Fungi

The moist, shaded woodlands east of "the Point" create an ideal habitat for many species mushrooms. As often as not it's difficult or impossible to identify relatively featureless white fungi from a photo, but the dark gills, the short stem and the double annulus indicate that this a group of Banded Agaric (Agaricus bitorquis) ... "bitorquis" means two collars and is a reference to the twin rings.

The Smooth Lepiota (Leucoagaricus naucina) can easily be mistaken for one of the white amanitas. However, the swollen base of this mushroom lacks the cup formed by the remnants of the universal veil, and the thin annulus or ring is often loose and can easily be moved.

A picturesque group of Lepiota cristata. This mushroom makes up for its good looks with a reputedly unpleasant odor (I didn't check this out in the field), hence its common name of Stinking Parasol.

The following two pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago. Obviously this is a tooth fungus – Hericium sp. – but what species? There wasn't anything quite like this in my field guide or on the Internet.

Here's the same fungus revisited, and two weeks have made a lot of difference. This is a Bear's Head Tooth Fungus (Hericium americanum), much easier to identify now that it's older, or to use a popular idiom – longer in the tooth.

Looks can be deceiving – judging by the "teeth" along the edges this appears be a species of tooth fungus. Actually, it's a polypore, Phlebia tremellosa, related to the bracket fungi ...

... and what seem to be a group of small "bracket fungi" growing on a twig turn out to be gill fungi, Crepidotus variabilis.

Schizophyllum commune is another polypore impersonator. Schizophyllum means "split leaf" – with its continually self-replicating pattern I think of this as the "fractal fungus".

A look at its underside establishes Schizophyllum commune's place in the fungus family tree ... this is a species of gill fungus.

Are these small fungi some kind of puffball?

The dry, spongy interior produces copious amounts of brown spores in the manner of a puffball. But these aren't puffballs, they are a species of slime mold called Wolf's Milk (Lycogala epidendrum) in the final stage of sporulation.

A photo taken in mid-August depicting Wolf's Milk (also called Groening's Slime) in an earlier stage of growth.

Autumn Insects

Autumn is harvest time, a busy time for wildlife, a time to hoard food or fatten up for the winter. Many insect species don't attain maturity until the fall, and must find a mate and breed in the limited time available to them before first hard frost.

Sad to say, time is running out for this beautiful Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). According to my Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies this insect is a "migrant and temporary colonist north to ... s. Ontario". Although Common Buckeyes theoretically colonize this area and even a bit farther north, this is my first encounter with this butterfly and I've never seen one even in larval form or as roadkill. Nor will it be around much longer: this species cannot survive our winters, and new generations from warm southern climes will have to resettle the harsher northern limits of their range all over again next spring and summer.

An inspiring insect, and all those appealing colors and patterns on the wings call for a hand drawn sketch.

Several species of darners (Anax junius and Aeshna sp.) and meadowhawks (Sympetrum sp.) are well known late season fliers. A bit of a wanderer and thereby less often seen is the Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata). But it was somewhat surprising to find this female – a teneral – as late as September 26th.

Sometimes Black Saddlebags aren't around for a year or two. But there seems to have been a bumper crop this year, and I've already encountered two others: one on September 16th at the intersection of Louisa St. and the Eastern Ontario Trail, the other on September 19th near the intersection of Alexander St. and the Eastern Ontario Trail.

Always look twice at twigs, bird droppings and dead leaves ... or even living leaves, that green "leaf" could be a Texas Bush Katydid (Scudderia texensis).

A closeup shot of the katydid's ovipositor.

This Maple Spanworm Moth (Ennomos magnaria) is doing its best to masquerade as a dead yellow leaf ...

... while a caterpillar (as yet unidentified) imitates a dry, unpalatable twig.

When an insect advertises its presence with bold colors it's for a good reason! This odd looking "carpenter ant" was was on the run when I took its picture so the image quality is rather poor. Luckily I was unable to capture it to take a closeup shot of it sitting in my hand because it can sting – it's not a carpenter ant, it's a wasp called a Velvet Ant. Timulla sp., possibly grotei, and this one is a female; males velvet ants can fly but the females lack wings. I don't know what kind of a punch Timulla can pack, but it has relatives nicknamed "cow killers" ...

Learn more about the life cycle of Velvet Ants at Wikipedia: Mutillidae.

Easily mistaken for a yellowjacket, the chalcid wasp Leucospis affinis is a parasite of Megachilid bees. Note how this female carries her ovipositor over the top of her abdomen. Another distinguishing characteristic (unfortunately not very clear in the photos) are the enlarged spiny femora on the hind legs.