New Waxcap variety

Returning to the subject of the moment here at The Beeches which is grassland fungi, I have a new waxcap which is pretty much a white version of the Meadow Waxcap. This year I have had hundreds of Meadow Waxcaps (Hygrocybe pratensis) and it is probably the most common waxcap on site but there are a few white fungi which look very similar in size and in the gill formation. There is a question as to whether these are a separate species or a variety - the variety proposal is based on the fact that it is only the colour that distinguishes it whereas the lack of any intermediate forms argues for a species definition. However as I have the book by Boertmann on genus Hygrocybe, I shall follow him in treating it as a variety. The photo above is therefore Hygrocybe pratensis var. pallida.

Pied Wagtail finds a friend

The male Pied Wagtail who has been around on our roof for a couple of weeks has attracted a special friend and they were doing what looked some display type flying today. I was a bit surprised as I would have expected this sort of behaviour early in the new year rather than in the Autumn.

Parrot Waxcaps in profusion

Until yesterday I had only seen a single Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina) on site and that was in 2011. Yesterday I spotted three groups of fungi close together that at first sight looked like three different species. The central group was clearly Parrot Waxcaps, the unique green colouration evident on caps, stems and gills. The left-hand group was basically an orangey colour and the right-hand group a yellowy colour. Closer examination showed them to be all Parrot Waxcaps. I knew that Parrot Waxcaps came in a range of hues aside from showing the green colouration unique amongst waxcaps but had never thought that there would be such a range of colours in fungi so close together. It has been an epic waxcap year so far. The photo is the right-hand yellowy coloured group.

The Scarlet Waxcap is back

I was wondering where this waxcap was as it has been one of the more common waxcaps here but it has started appearing in the last few days. This is definitely an outstanding waxcap season in terms of quantity - there are hundreds of waxcaps in three of the fields. I am not sure whether this is an effect of management and in particular the sheep grazing, or whether it is just a weather-related phenomenon.

New fungi species - Coral Spot

I was looking at one of my decomposing log piles and there were dozens of fungi and slime moulds that I couldn't identify - it seems as though every decomposing log is host to its own species. One caught my eye as distinctive however both in colour and form and a while later I spotted its picture. The 'spots' are distinctly warty close up and the fungus is the apparently very common Coral Spot (Nectria cinnabarina).

Crimson Waxcap at New Grove Meadows

One of the most impressive waxcaps for its size and colour is the Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea). Unfortunately it is not a waxcap I have found here at The Beeches. However two miles away at New Grove Meadows it is found and I saw a few on a visit yesterday. The specimen I photographed is about twice the diameter of any waxcap I have seen here. The one waxcap that is somewhat similar, though actually much smaller and red rather than crimson, is the Scarlet Waxcap (H. coccinea) but for some reason I have not seen a single example here this year. For the last few years it has been one of the commoner waxcaps.

New species - Goldcrest

I arrived home today to find a dead Goldcrest by the front door - it must have flown into the window near to the door which has caused some bird strikes in the past as it is on a clear line to a further window. In previous strikes the bird has beens stunned for a while but has recovered and flown off but maybe because of the tiny size of the Goldcrest it didn't survive. Not the way I wanted to add this delightful bird onto the species list.

Eyebright identified

Eyebright first appeared on the site in 2013 - two years after we instituted a meadows management regime. At the time I struggled to get a firm ID of the species even with some expert help but there are around 20 species and 70 hybrids of Eyebright so that is not surprising. This year the single small patch in one field has turned into five patches spread around three fields. Whilst having a further go at an identification I noticed that the tiny patch of three plants to be found in our South field was different to the others. It had a feature that they didn't which was hairs on the undersides of the leaves. In addition the flowers were bigger (10 to 11mm rather than 8 to 9mm) and the plants were unbranched whereas others had multiple branches. (Photo above) I set out again to try and identify the Eyebrights on site. In the end I came to the conclusion that the plants in the South field were Euphrasia montana (aka Euphrasia officinalis ssp monticola). This seemed unlikely as the only recent record in Monmouthshire is from 1997 between Pontypool and Abergavenny. However an Eyebright expert at the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland has agreed with my identification and so I can formally add this to my species list. He was not able to come to a firm conclusion on my other Eyebrights as I had not collected all the evidence necessary to make a determination but the range of suspects is narrowing and they may well be a hybrid species. I am hopeful of nailing the other Eyebrights next year.

Waxcaps back in force

The recent rain seems to have produced a second crop of waxcaps with some of them appearing in numbers. The photo is a pre-lunch* picture of one group of Meadow Waxcaps in the East field. There continue to be a large number of Lemon-green Waxcaps (Hygrocybe citrinovirens)and also further examples of the iconic Pink Waxcap as well as several other species. -- -- * Meadow Waxcaps are the only edible waxcap.

New Species - Hoverfly, Heliophilus pendulus

I actually took this picture in August 2013 when a hoverfly presented itself whilst I was photographing butterflies. However I had not a hope of identifying it from my generalist insect books once I found out that we have 281, yes 281, species of hoverfly in the UK. This ID is the first fruit of my recent purchase of the excellent 'Britain's Hoverflies' by Stuart Ball and Roger Morris that has a brilliant set of annotated photographs.

New Species - Green-brindled Crescent

The results of my first night's moth trapping are in - one Moth and one Caddis Fly. The moth is a Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes 0xyacanthae) I am not sure I have the reference sources to ID the Caddis Fly - there are apprently nearly 300 species of them in the UK.

New Species - Pale Tussock Moth

Just before setting a moth trap for the first time I found a stupendously coloured moth larva in the field which turns out to be the larva of a Pale Tussock (Calliteara pudibunda). The larva features a lime green and black body with lemon yellow showing on top at the rear and deep yellow pads of hair sticking up at the front, the whole surrounded by white bristles and with a bright red 'spine' sticking up at the rear.