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Hanging mushroom on an old grape branch
Johan van den Bongaardt sent me a photo of a mushroom hanging upside down. I must honestly admit that I have never seen this before. When I look at the shape, I think of a regular pleated skirt, but they normally grow vertically upwards. This mushroom species is a very fragile species and can only be seen in the field for a very short time. They appear after a rain shower and 24 hours later they are gone.
The pleated hat of the regular pleated skirt has given this mushroom its name, see the second photo. The common pleated skirt belongs to the family to which the scaly ink fungus also belongs. When the spores of this mushroom are ripe, they flow like ink. In principle, you will encounter this mushroom species on fertilized soil or near fertilized soil.
Which cocoon hangs in the parsnip?
Fons Metsaars found a cocoon on a parsnip. He wondered if this is a cocoon of a wasp spider. The answer is yes. The cocoon of this spider resembles an upside-down hot air balloon and is filled with wasp spider eggs. Such a wasp spider cocoon can contain hundreds of eggs and is usually spun in August.
After the wasp spider has made the cocoon – with the eggs inside – she guards the cocoon until she dies. In March of the following year, when weather conditions are favorable, the young spiders emerge.
There is something strange under the plant
The daughter of Luon van Ham lifted a plant and saw something strange there. She thought it might be a locust cocoon. Well, it certainly isn’t. Grasshoppers do not have cocoons, because they have an incomplete metamorphosis. This means that an animal hatches from the egg, which looks very much like the adult, but smaller. They molt as they grow and then crawl out of the old skin.
You can sometimes find such a skin. But that doesn’t look like what’s photographed here. The photo shows an animal of which I cannot properly observe many parts. But if I had to put a name to it, this looks like a caddisfly. I’m curious if anyone else has a different idea. Dragonflies are larvae of sedge moths. On this website contains more information.
Which animal was captured on the wildlife camera?
Kees de Jager sent me a photo of an animal taken by his game camera. He wonders which animal it is. I think this is a polecat, looking at the posture of this animal and the neck. I also don’t see any more white on the front. Otherwise it could have been a stone marten. Polecats belong to the mustelid family. This also includes the weasel and the badger.
Together with the weasel and the ermine, the polecat is considered one of the smaller mustelids. The maximum length of a polecat is about 45 centimeters. The fur of the polecat is dark brown. The undercoat is usually light brown in color, but can also be yellowish white or yellow. This animal’s menu mainly includes rodents, but also frogs, birds and fish. The rabbit used to be on their menu, but myxomatosis has ensured that there are almost no rabbits left in the wild. Finally, they also eat earthworms, insects, lizards and carrion. And, last but not leastThey also eat fruits for variety.
Which swallows were in a shed at the Boerenbondmuseum in Gemert?
Winkie Nogarede sent a photo of some birds under the roof of a shed. She asked me which species of swallow this is. If you look at the photo, you will see a beautiful white belly, some orange-red on the throat and further blue on the back. You can tell that these are barn swallows. This species belongs to the swallow family. In our country this also includes the house martin and the sand martin. The barn swallows have now disappeared from our country, because they are real migratory birds. They come here in the summer season, but in winter they fly happily around South Africa, Africa or southern Asia. Barn swallows breed in countries with sufficient water and mud. They build in barns, stables and the like. their nests. They are made of mud mixed with saliva. As a herald of spring, the barn swallow is seen by many farmers as a bringer of good luck, while for sailors this animal symbolizes a safe journey home.
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Discover the difference between the barn swallow, sand martin and house martin – De Terndief
House martins seek each other out. Barn swallows also, but only a few pairs. Certainly not comparable to the numbers of the house martin. The house martin does not have a reddish-brown throat nor a long tail like the barn swallow. On the other hand, they do have a striking white rump, which is often clearly visible during flight. Sand martins are among the most widespread swallow species and are found in wetland areas. So not with housings. They make their nests in self-dug tunnels near river or stream banks, but also in large sand piles. In the video above you will discover the differences between the barn swallow, the sand martin and the house martin. The photo I chose as the opening image was taken by Sjaak Huijer.
Toad migration?
Jolande Verberk sent me a photo of a set of common toads. She wondered if this is the toad migration. But no, it’s not. The toad migration takes place during the breeding season, which is in the spring. Male toads then jump on every female that passes by. There may be several males per female. During this period it is very strange that three males jump on a female. The warm temperature at the beginning of September may have something to do with this, because I received this message from Jolande Verberk at the beginning of September. I have never seen anything like this myself during that period. Common toads usually look for a wintering place in the autumn and mating takes place in the spring. In principle, amphibians have two periods during which toad or amphibian migration takes place. One in the spring. when mating also takes place. You sometimes see males jumping on the females and pulling on the females’ backs. You do not see this during the autumn migration, when the toads look for a wintering place. In short, a very strange situation.
Beautiful species captured during a walk at De Haar Castle
During a walk at De Haar Castle in Haarzuilens, Dik Druijf photographed two very beautiful organisms. First he took a photo of a beautiful lichen: a leaf-shaped lichen with the beautiful name simply shield moss. You often find this lichen on dead wood or on the bark of trees. So this is not a moss, but a lichen. These are organisms that, like fungi, obtain their nutrients from algae with which they live. And algae get their energy from sunlight and produce oxygen at the same time.
In addition, in Dik’s photo you see a few sixteen-spotted ladybugs. This species of ladybird is often found in groups and is usually no larger than about three millimeters in size, but they are very beautiful.
A battered Atalanta, why is that?
Ria Swaans took a photo of a battered Atalanta. There was a big hole in the left wing. Her question is: how did such a beautiful Atalanta end up with such a battered wing? Well, butterflies’ wings are very fragile. They can tear or break at the slightest thing. This may be due to an attack by an insect, bird or mammal. Sometimes you see great tits in your area trying to catch such a butterfly. This usually fails, because butterflies are very agile. But sometimes it works and the great tits eat such a delicious snack. If the attack fails, the butterfly continues flying with one or two damaged wings. This is how damage can occur. But – and then you see fewer large holes – elderly butterflies also often get damaged. Those older butterflies then have frayed wings. A butterfly with broken wings naturally has difficulty finding food. By the way, most adult butterflies, and many people don’t know this, do not live longer than three weeks.
Beautiful photos section
In the beautiful photos section, this time a photo taken by Olivier van Eck. Two months ago he was with his grandmother in Balen, Belgium, and saw this hairy jumping spider. He took a fantastic photo of this beautiful animal.
Nature tip
A walk will take place in Helenaveen on Saturday, October 28 from half past six to nine in the evening, as part of the ‘night of the night’. Leave the dark dark and discover how beautiful the night is. The start is at half past six in the evening with a cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate or mulled wine at In d’Ouwe Peel. The walk starts around seven in the evening. Sometimes you may first have to drive to the starting point, in which case carpooling will take place as much as possible.
The walk takes two to three hours.
Afterwards you can enjoy the now traditional cup of soup and – of your choice – have a nice drink by the stove.
This event is suitable for children. The walk is not too long and certainly exciting and impressive in the dark!
The meeting point is Oude Peelstraat 2 in Helenaveen. Parking is available at the church on Hannes Joostenplein.
Background info
The Night of the Night is an annual event, initiated by nature and environmental federations. Events are then organized in the dark throughout the country. Then companies also turn off the lights of buildings and billboards. In this way they reflect on light pollution and waste and show how beautiful it is (in) the dark. The rhythm of people and animals is disturbed by all that unnecessary lighting. Humans and animals need the natural rhythm of the night to rest, for their health and for strong resistance. Millions of migratory birds are disturbed or die every year due to light pollution. This year the Night is being organized nationally for the nineteenth time.