Do you stop to smell the roses? That is for your olfactory sense. My olfactory sense is not very good as some of you know. So I explore the small parts of things with my vision sense instead (use what you got LOL). Stuff that needs you to get right close to it. Here are a few of the small stuff I have looked at recently…
This maybe a fungus (the brown balls) and a slime mold growing on top of the fungus. The fungus is about 4 mm.
UV light was positive on small pieces of it. I think the slime mold maybe doing the blue fluorescing but not sure at all.
This was such a pretty slime mold. It is called the Wasp’s Nest Slime Mold (Metatrichia vesparia syn. M. vesparium). Why is it called Wasp’s Nest you are probably wondering?
This is why! Once the tops come off, it looks like paper wasp nest. These are quite small. The sporangia is only about 4 mm tall.
Here is the comparison of a paper wasps’ nest.
Do you remember me showing this Cow Dung cup fungus last week? Can you see the other clear looking tiny things with the black dot on top? Sorry you will have to get real close to the cow dung to see in the wild.
Well it turned out to be a fungus. It is called the Hat Thrower or Dung Cannon (Pilobolus crystallinus)! It is only about 2 mm tall. “It is unique in that it adheres its spores to vegetation, so as to be eaten by grazing animals. It then passes through the animals’ digestive systems and grows in their feces. Although these fungi only grow to be 2–4 cm (0.8–1.6 in) tall, they can shoot their sporangium, containing their spores, up to 2 m (6.6 ft) away. Due to an increase of pressure in the vesicle, the sporangium can accelerate 0–45 mph in the first millimeter of its flight, which corresponds to an acceleration of an incredible 20000 g. Using a mucus-like substance found in the vesicle of the fungus, the sporangium can adhere itself onto whatever it lands, thus completing its life cycle.” (Source: Wikipedia)
This orange larva was crawling around on the dung too.
Great pic of paper wasp nest with eggs. And i had no idea slime mold took so many shapes. Just never thought about it I guess.
And i love the way your blog is set up now. So easy to use.
Good to hear. Thanks!
Thank you for the enlargements/microscope work. We get to see so many things we would never see otherwise. I’m in awe.
I’m happy you are enjoying them, but not as much as me I bet. 🙂 And thanks!
Wow to everything!!