Fragrant mushroom in the woods near Geldrop
Karin Kanen saw the above mushroom in the woods near Geldrop last Sunday and she wondered which mushroom this is. I think this is one of the russula species. I think this is the frosted russula. You can encounter frosted russulas from the beginning of summer until especially autumn. You see them mainly in mixed forests under deciduous trees, but sometimes also under coniferous trees. You can also find them in parks, especially in avenues and under bridges. This russula is edible, but does not taste special. Tip: if you come across such a beautiful frosted russula, you should definitely smell it, because the frosted russula smells like old cheese. Delicious!
Strange worm on the walls of a toilet
W. Buys is bothered by a certain animal on the walls of the toilet and sent me a photo. Unfortunately, the animal in the photo was very small and it was difficult for me to see exactly what shapes the insect had. Fortunately, I know some people who were able to professionally enlarge the photo. They immediately gave the name. They thought of the brush. Paintbrushes are animals that belong to the millipedes, not centipedes. One of the differences between millipedes and centipedes is that millipedes have two pairs of legs on each body segment and centipedes have one pair. So the brush is a millipede. Brushes mainly live under bark and damp wood. Very occasionally they are also found in houses. Then they are mainly located in places where it is moist. They do not cause damage and they are completely harmless to humans. The easiest way to get rid of them is to keep those damp spots too dry. Sprinkling lime powder on those spots also helps.
Spotted in Umbria, an insect up to ten centimeters long
Kim Vellekate–Pallandt sent me a photo of a really beautiful caterpillar. The caterpillar is almost blindingly yellow and has fluorescent blue tips with hairs on it. We are dealing here with the caterpillar of the night peacock butterfly. Caterpillars of this species live on birch trees, but also pedunculate oaks, willows and aspens. You can also encounter them on common heather, blackthorn and blackberry.
Great night peacocks are active both at night and during the day and can be encountered from April onwards. Females of this beautiful butterfly can have a wingspan of up to nine inches. This makes these butterflies among the largest butterflies in Europe.
What insect do I see on the outside wall of our house?
In the photo above by Anjo van Oss you see a light brown orange animal with four white stripes that together form an inverted ‘v’, but do not touch each other. We are dealing here with a moth named orange carrot borer. A male to be exact. Females of the orange root borer are less conspicuous. They have a gray-brown color, but are a lot bigger. The caterpillars of the orange root borer are mainly found on grasses, sorrel species, dandelions and bracken. The caterpillars pupate in the soil.
Seen in Austria, what’s the name?
Carla saw a very beautiful butterfly in Austria. She wondered which moth or butterfly this is. This is not a moth, but a moth. Often people think that all moths are moths, but they are not. There are many moths and there are only a few moths. In this case, Carla saw the beautiful giant bear butterfly. This moth is easily recognizable by the white with dark brown pattern on the forewings. If you look closely at the photo of Carla you can see a little orange color in the middle. That is part of the orange-red hindwings. These last orange-red hindwings also have blue-black spots. In short, a colorful moth. Large bear butterflies are real moths, which become active late at night. These large bear butterflies also like to come to light. When disturbed, they display their brightly colored hind wings and produce a clear yellow fluid from two glands just behind the head.
Waiting for privacy settings…
Millipede – The pigsty
Millipedes have a large number of legs, but certainly not a million. Each body segment has two pairs of legs per body segment. This is in contrast to centipedes (chilopoda) which have one pair of legs per body segment. These worm-like insects have very small antennae and do not possess poisonous jaw legs like the centipede. All species live in the wild. Only the brush (Polyxenus lagurus L.) is sometimes found in thatched roofs, bathrooms and toilets. The brush is mainly active at night and feeds on lichen and algae.
A lizard in pine cones?
Kevin Backx was walking on the Oisterwijk heath and thought he saw a lizard walking across the path. He wondered what kind of lizard this is. If you look very closely at Kevin’s photo you will see that the skin of this animal does not consist of scales. The skin of a lizard does. If you also look at the head, it is also somewhat wider than that of a lizard. In short: we are not dealing here with a lizard, but with a salamander. I think this is a small newt. When small newts step out of the water in search of a different place, they start to look different. We call this the land phase. Then these salamanders get a slightly dry, dull skin. On land you can encounter them in deciduous and coniferous forests, dunes, polders, grasslands, swamps and old quarries, but also in parks and gardens. Here you can see a nice underwater video of the small water salamander of Early Birds.
Waiting for privacy settings…
A swimming piece of reed?
Bart van Zinnen sent me a video of a strange moving animal in a reed. He wonders what this could be. I had never seen anything like it before, so I called in an expert. This expert, Bram Koese, immediately pointed out that no clear structural features can be seen. Yet he dared to put a name on it. He thinks it is a dance mosquito larva. The swimming movements are the same and several species of these larvae use all kinds of tubes, such as a piece of reed. Dance midges are also called winter midges, feather midges or feather midges (because of the striking plume-shaped antennae). The mouthparts of this insect are weakly developed, because dance mosquitoes, unlike mosquitoes, do not suck blood. Dance mosquito larvae, as in the film, are worm-like and blood-red in color and are therefore also called ‘red mosquito larva’ or ‘bloodworm’.
Nature tip: bike ride through the Loonse and Drunense Dunes
On Saturday 3 September, a bicycle tour will be organized through the Loonse en Drunense Duinen from ten in the morning until twelve in the afternoon. During this cycling tour, participants get a nice picture of the largest living drifting sand area in Western Europe. They cycle along the west side of the Loonse en Drunense Duinen and the participants pass various heaths. The peace memorial in Kaatsheuvel recalls the fact that on September 5, 1944, the Germans blew up their ammunition depot here. The guide takes the participants to the bomb craters, which are still clearly present in the landscape, and a trench. This requires a short walk, where we can hold the bike. We drive back the same route, where you get a completely different view of the same area. Of course, cutting down forest for the purpose of shifting sand recovery will also be discussed. At Bosch en Duin we visit the memorial monument in memory of fourteen resistance fighters who were executed in the dunes. At the lookout point, participants can enjoy the expansive panorama and see some of the areas they have cycled past.
More information:
• You can sign up through this link.
• Departure point is the Bosch en Duin parking lot at 50 Schoorstraat in Udenhout.
• The excursion is aimed at adults. Older children are welcome accompanied by an adult.
• Make sure your bike is in order!
• Wear sturdy shoes.
• Wear clothes that suit the weather.
• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards.