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Alien Invaders Captured During Solar Eclipse
e6filmuser
Registered Users Posts: 3,378 Major grins
We couldn't see the recent eclipse, due to thick cloud but the light got very dim, such that levelling cultivated garden soil became difficult. So I took a walk around the front garden and saw what looked like tufts of black grass in the area used as a toilet by our cat.
On closer examination, I saw that it was one of the fungus flora I had not seen before.
As you do on a very dim day
, I grabbed my camera. I later found that I had only a day or two to get photographs of the interesting stages.
I could see deep yellow blobs and black ones. I eventually identified this as Phycomyces nitens, Common Pin Mould, often found on cat faeces. It was emerging through topsoil I had previously used to cover the faeces.
Contrary to what you might expect, the yellow capsules were the unripe ones. The black ones, on much narrowed and very elongated hyphae, are the ripe ones.Some stalks have yet to develop capsules. Note the sculpturing on the young stalks.
The colonies were very haphazard and three-dimensional, such that it was difficult to get many structures in one plane. The mature spors are in stems up to about 10cm high.
Some were by daylight and others by twin flash.
EM-1, Kiron 105mm or Schneider HM 40mm, hand-held.
Harold
On closer examination, I saw that it was one of the fungus flora I had not seen before.
As you do on a very dim day
, I grabbed my camera. I later found that I had only a day or two to get photographs of the interesting stages.I could see deep yellow blobs and black ones. I eventually identified this as Phycomyces nitens, Common Pin Mould, often found on cat faeces. It was emerging through topsoil I had previously used to cover the faeces.
Contrary to what you might expect, the yellow capsules were the unripe ones. The black ones, on much narrowed and very elongated hyphae, are the ripe ones.Some stalks have yet to develop capsules. Note the sculpturing on the young stalks.
The colonies were very haphazard and three-dimensional, such that it was difficult to get many structures in one plane. The mature spors are in stems up to about 10cm high.
Some were by daylight and others by twin flash.
EM-1, Kiron 105mm or Schneider HM 40mm, hand-held.
Harold
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Comments
I like #4 and #5 very much!
Thanks. They are new to me too.
There is so much diversity out there. Once your vision becomes tuned, the choice of subjects can be overwhelming.
Harold
Photos: jowest.smugmug.com
Book1: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LUBMI1C
Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079V3RX6K
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jo.west.16
Thanks, Jo.
I was expecting fungi to help with recycling but the yellow spheres were a surprise.
Harold
Paul.
Link to my personal website: http://www.pauliddon.co.uk
Thanks, Paul.
Harold