Moss puts a brake on peak flow and flooding. “Moors for the future” have been working in the Peak District to investigate the run off of water after rain.  Often after a storm, rain water will run off a hillside unimpeded so that communities downstream in valleys are vulnerable to flooding.  Moors for a future have been planting upland areas (on Kinder Scout) with Sphagnum moss.  They have planted some 50,000 plants of the moss.  Prior to the planting of the moss, the surface might be bare, and rainwater would run straight off.  It was found that the moss dramatically slowed the run off of water, and the volume of water discharged from the hillside, preventing rivers from becoming inundated.  Each moss plant can hold up to twenty times its own weight of water.  The sphagnum moss also protects the underlying peat, so that new layers of material can accumulate - allowing for carbon sequestration. Help from vegetables ? More and more bacteria are now resistant to many types of antibiotics, consequently it is increasingly difficult to treat certain types of bacterial infection / disease.  In some cases, this is due to the production of a biofilm.  Bacteria grow on many surfaces within our bodies and as they grow and multiply they may encase themselves in a matrix of extra-cellular material that they produce ( as seen in Pseudomonas sp). Research workers at the Ben Gurion University have found that certain compounds from cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, can break down these bacterial films. Cruciferous vegetables include Cabbages, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Kale, Radish, Kohlrabi and Mustard. The chemical DIM (3,3 diindolylmethane) was able to disrupt the biofilm.  When introduced to an infected, wound, it was found to speed up the healing process. It is hoped that further work will lead to a commercially viable product for the treatment of certain infections. (Thanks to Ulleo on Pixabay for adjacent image). ‘Help Signals’ from oil seed rape. Oilseed rape (or rapeseed, Brassica napus) is a major crop in many parts of the country.  It provides an oil and is also contributes to animal feedstuffs and biofuels.  Great swathes of the country turn yellow when the plant is in flower during the summer months.  These monocultures are ideal for the animals that feed on the plants, these range from insects, to nematodes, slugs and wood pigeons   One particular pest of oil seed rape is the Common Pollen Beetle (Brassicogethes aeneus).  The female beetles lay eggs in the flower buds of and the larvae develop within the flowers.  Both adults and larvae feed on the pollen and nectar in the flowers. Plants have limited means of fighting attackers.  They may construct structural defences, as discussed in the woodlands blog, or they may use chemical defences.  When bitten by a marauding herbivore some plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).  As the pollen beetles feed, the rapeseed releases VOCs which attract the attention of other insect - notably those that will lay their eggs into the larvae of the pollen beetles. These insects are usually from the same family as bees, wasps and ants - the Hymenoptera (insects with membranous wings and a ‘narrow waist’.   The pollen beetle larvae are then ‘eaten’ from the inside by the developing parasitoid larva.  This effectively constitutes a form of biological control.  Interestingly, the pollen beetles preferred to lay eggs into rapeseed plants plants growing with high levels of N fertilisation, whereas their parasitoids favoured more moderate levels of N fertilization.  This work was undertaken  at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. Finding the flowers. Research at the University of Exeter has shown that bees can distinguish between various flowers through a combination of colour and pattern.  This selectivity is achieved despite the ‘acuity’ of a bee’s vision being quite low (about a 100 times lower than ours) - this means they can only see the pattern of a flower when they are quite close ( a matter of centimetres).  The researchers analysed a large amount of data on plants and visiting bee behaviour, and experiments involving artificial shapes and colours.  One particular finding was the importance of the contrast between the outside of the flower and the plant’s foliage.  This seemed to help bees quickly find their way to the flowers.

The results of this year’s Big Butterfly Count have now been published and the ‘top’ 5 butterflies are the gatekeeper, the large white, the small white, the meadow brown and the red admiral.  The count is a UK-wide survey that aims to provide a measure of the state / health of our environment by simply counting the number and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see in our gardens and parks. The good news is that the Gatekeeper is making something of a comeback, being the most spotted butterfly in the count.  The numbers of the Common Blue, Holly Blue and the Comma are also ‘on the up’.  The Comma has been making a slow comeback for some years.  This is associated with the Comma extending its range northwards.  Extension of range is also seen in the Holly Blue, it is thought to be associated with climate change.  Some twenty years ago, it was rarely to be seen in Scotland, but it was recorded in Edinburgh in 2006, then Ayr in 2008 and now has spread across large areas of Scotland.  [caption id="attachment_24954" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Comma butterfly : photo by A J Symons.[/caption] The Jersey Tiger Moth is another species that is extending its range. Once it was to be found on Devon’s south coast, but it has spread north and east.  It is now to be seen in gardens and parks in the Greater London area. These moths ‘like’ gardens, hedgerows and disturbed / rough ground. In coastal areas, they may be seen on cliffs and the upper reaches of a beach.  The caterpillars of this moth feed mainly on ground ivy, white dead-nettle, bramble and the common nettle.    There are differences between butterflies and moth, but there is no hard and fast rule to distinguish between them. Butterflies usually have ‘club-shaped’ antennae, whilst many moths have feathery or tapering ones.   Butterflies normally fold their wings vertically over their backs,  moths generally place their wings horizontally when at rest (but not all). Whilst this summer’s results offer some hope, and the warmth of this summer’s weather might be thought to have favoured butterflies, the overall trend / pattern of butterfly numbers is one of decline - for example, numbers of the Red Admiral and Meadow Brown are down, sadly a pattern seen in many insect species. The loss of suitable habitats, such as meadows and hedgerows, is thought to be a major factor in this decline.

Our wood in the Scottish Highlands is an amazing place to go foraging for fungi. Last year we had bagful’s of Chanterelles so we hoped for the same when we went up last week. Like every owner we have met, we do not get up there as often as we would like, but we had great expectations that there would be tons of tasty toadstools, more “Chants”, some Boletes, maybe a Blusher or two and hopefully our favourite:  Penny Buns! (Ceps, Porcini are other names for them). We have a natural Birch Wood (near Loch Ness), with a few other tree species thrown in like Rowans, Juniper and some alien Western Hemlocks (good cover when it rains).  At this time of year when the Birches are on the turn, it is just glorious. The greens, golds and vibrant yellows are interspersed with the fading Purple Heather and the odd bright red Fly Agaric or one of the many Russula species adding further interest and detail. As usual, checking the trailcams was interesting, mainly Roe and Sika Deer. I have two there but forgot where one was....a common occurrence.   I found Hedgehog Mushrooms, some Scarletina Boletes, Birch Polypore and Chaga; the Chants were scarce but enough for a hearty breakfast.  I had all but given up on the Buns, but found a really tiny one hiding under the heather. There had been more but they had been eaten, some snipped off at the base and one fat one whose cap was gone and the stem mangled beyond use.  I had a suspect in mind; reviewing the trailcam footage at home confirmed my suspicions.    A Wild Boar ate my Buns!

In 1820, John Keats famous poem “To Autumn’ was published.  Its opening line often serves to describe autumn as ‘The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’.  Indeed, Autumn has arrived here.  Woodlands have been transformed into a 'tableau' of red, yellows, and oranges as the leaves are shed and the woodland floor has become a veritable fungal jungle, (as Jasper has described).  Hawthorn and other bushes are laden with berries, conkers and acorns are generously strewn across woodland floors, squirrels are eating hazelnuts (and hiding them as a winter food store).  But this cornucopia of fruits and seeds may be in response to the long, hot and very dry summer we have experienced.  Trees and shrubs have been stressed by the heat and drought. Some have responded by mobilising their reserves / efforts into producing more fruits and seeds, to ensure that they pass on their genes to the next generation.   Different trees are responding in other ways. Some are ‘holding on’ to their leaves for longer, whilst others (like some birches and rowans) have already shed theirs - in order to limit the damage from wilting and water loss during the intense heat and drought of summer.  [caption id="attachment_39130" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Autumnal colour[/caption] Blackberries appeared early this Summer and few are to be seen this Autumn, some animals (like the dormouse) will search in vain. [caption id="attachment_39026" align="aligncenter" width="675"] Black Bryony berries (photo by Art Symons)[/caption] Will this Autumn be long and mild? It may extend into the traditional winter months. There is also the threat of extreme weather events (like Storm Arwen that brought severe winds across the UK last November).  Whilst we might welcome mild weather (with the high price of gas and electricity), it could be mean an increase in bacterial and fungal infections, not only of plants but also affecting overwintering insects - tucked up in cocoons and pupal cases. Prolonged cold periods, coupled with frosts limit the spread of such infections.  The cold of winter is also the traditional signal for animals like hedgehogs to hibernate.  If they are still active in winter when food is scarce, then they will lose condition and possibly starve to death.  Milder weather in Autumn and Winter also affects the migratory behaviour of birds, some birds may choose to overwinter here.  Some seeds need to experience cold temperatures before they will germinate in the following Spring. Climate change and severe weather events are here to stay until there is a coordinated and concerted effort to reduce greenhouse emissions on a global scale.  On a local scale, our gardens (which represent some 400,000 hectares of land) can make a contribution by encouraging wildlife / pollinators and promoting biodiversity.  Gardens can also help to some extent with extreme rainfall.  During heavy rain, water runs off hard surfaces and into the drains, these may also deal with sewage.  When the drains are overwhelmed by storm water, sewage is discharged into our rivers (and the sea).   Gardens can help by  reducing hard landscaping, so that rain can soak into the soil instead of running off into the drains making use of water butts.  They capture water, so it does not enter the drainage system.  It is also there to use when the garden needs water (and there is a hose pipe ban) mulching the soil with a layer of plant material. It is an effective method of conserving water in the soil and it reduces surface runoff, increasing the infiltration / penetration of water into the soil.  It helps keep the soil moist in times of drought, and helps reduce run off during heavy rainfall.  Particularly important when planting young trees / shrubs. [caption id="attachment_38957" align="aligncenter" width="675"] a light mulch (in Art's garden)[/caption]  

It is depressing to pick up a paper or turn on the news to be met with a catalogue of distressing and difficult stories.  There is also the overarching problem of global warning and climate change.  Only recently, there have been reports of flooding in Sydney after torrential rain, fires are springing up again in Colorado and other States, and India experienced a heat wave (combined with a drought), with some cities experiencing temperatures of 40o+C.  This has resulted in the deaths of individuals, and as the heat wave occurred in the final weeks of the wheat growing season it has killed many crops before harvest.  In Balochistan, the peach and apple harvest has been severely impacted. Here in the UK, there are a number of problems, indeed we have been described as “one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world”.  We have lost plant and animal species, such losses could lead us into an ‘ecological recession’. This occurs when ecosystems systems lack the diversity needed to function well. Much of the damage to (or loss of) our ecosystems is associated with the industrial revolution followed by the  intensification of mechanised farming. The 1950’s and 1960’s witnessed the loss of vast tracts of hedges and the removal of small copses to increase the area for farming / food production, and allow the use of heavy duty mechanised machinery.  There was also the extension of road networks - motorways etc. and urban sprawl /development.  Though woodlands and forests were being eroded long before the industrial revolution; woodland, forest and pasture covered much more of the land than now. There were areas of ‘wilderness’ that were home to animals and plants that have long since gone or are now very rare - ranging from wolves, bears, to beavers and red squirrels. Whilst woodlands were and are havens for many plant and animal species, meadows and pastures have suffered too.  The PlantLife charity has suggested that the UK has lost some 97% of its wildflower meadows during the course of the last century and what remains could be under threat. Lowland meadows are rich sources of biodiversity, both plant and animal, they also store carbon in the soil and ‘knit’ the soil together, so that it is not subject to erosion. [caption id="attachment_38489" align="aligncenter" width="700"] A meadow, partly mown and partly 'wild'.[/caption] Many species are dependent on these habitats, but with the expansion of agriculture and construction of motorways - the landscape has become fragmented and many species cannot across the formidable barriers.  The Scottish primrose is now only to be found on the north coast of Scotland and Orkney, and some orchids are described ‘as just hanging on’.  Species like the common blue butterfly is reliant of bird’s foot trefoil, Greater Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Black Medick and white clover for food for its caterpillars.  The great yellow bumblebee is sadly now one of the rarest British bumblebees. It is limited to flower-rich areas in the Orkneys, Caithness and Sutherland. It is particularly associated with red clover. It is a large species, and was once widespread across the U.K. Creating space and opportunities for wild flowers has been PlantLife's foremost objective from “No mow May”, “Save nature on our roadside” (see the woodland blog here and here) ’Fight for sites” all of which aim to increase the number of sites for wild flowers and their pollinators to flourish.  The Scottish Government has been helping establish wildflower meadows at some of its national nature reserves - notably St Cyrus, Flanders Moss and Forvie, and they are working with PlantLife to create an action plan for Scotland’s grassland.  It is keen for farmers to be involved, offering areas of wild flowers on their farms.  By increasing the areas in which wild flowers (and their associated insects) can flourish, the connectivity can be restored (at least in part).  The creation of biological corridors allows plants and animals to move, which is particularly important in these times of climate change.  

We are now in the peak season for mushrooms and toadstools, and UK Fungus Day, this Saturday 8th October, seems as good a time as any to get out into nature and have a look at what’s around. But while this blog tends to be woodland related by the very fact of it appearing on this website, when it comes to the role of fungi in our wider ecosystems, it can be easy to miss the wood for the trees. Fungi might have a fairytale association with forests, but we all know that they do grow in other places. Take our most common commercially grown edible, for example, Agaricus bisporus – a fungi so familiar it goes by a plethora of common names, including common, white and chestnut mushroom. The British Mycological Society list ‘Cultivated Mushroom’ as it’s official common name, but when it is found growing naturally, it is almost always on grasslands of some description, just like the larger closely-related Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris).  So let us take a temporary foray out of the forest into fresh pastures this month, where we shall focus on an eye-catching and particularly interesting group of grassland fungi whose importance to the natural world needs a lot more appreciation and investigation: the waxcaps.  Butter Waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea) There’s a whole swathe of mushrooms one might see growing in fields and parklands and other grassy areas. Most are saprophytic, growing on decaying organic matter, like such well-known varieties as the Shaggy Inkcap and the majestic Parasol Mushroom, and you might see other types like the Egghead Mottlegill or the Stubble Rosegill growing in animal dung or among hedge cuttings or other organic litter at the edge of fields and pathways. The waxcaps, however, prefer “unimproved” grasslands, by which it is meant that the ground has been left undisturbed and has not been reseeded for some time, it is nutrient poor and has not been dosed with artificial fertilisers, and is most likely used as either permanent pasture or a regular hay cropping.  According to the book ‘Grassland Fungi: A Field Guide’ (2017), by Elsa Wood and Jon Dunkelman, such short-sward, nutrient-poor areas tend to be rich in wildflower species and a good moss flora is present. This latter point is important, because while waxcaps have been thought of both as being saprophytic and mycorrhizal (growing in association with plant roots), current research seems to suggest they grow in association with grassland mosses. Butter Waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea) amongst the moss As such, waxcaps are incredibly useful environment indicators, and one of the key species types in a system known as CHEGD proposed by a certain E. Rald in Denmark in 1985 for evaluating the conservation value of a given grassland. CHEGD refers to five groups of fungi whose presence signifies a healthy grassland: Clavaroids such as club, coral and spindle fungi; the waxcaps are the H for Hygrocybe (literally meaning “wet head”); Enteloma, or pinkgills; Geoglossum, or earthtongues; and Dermoloma, a genus commonly referred to as “Crazed Caps”. There have subsequently been a few additions to the system and the taxonomical revisions that seem to regularly hit the world of mycology mean that Hygrocybe has been split into several other genuses that also refer to waxcaps, including Cuphophyllus and Gliophorus. Nevertheless, the name CHEGD and the principles behind it still stand.   Snowy Waxcap (Cuphophyllus virgineus) Unimproved grassland habitats are few and far between in some parts of the world, with many of our large, open areas given over to agricultural practices that favour the rapid rotation of crops, for example, or they are earmarked for building houses upon. Ancient grasslands might not get as much attention in environmental conservation and restoration as woodlands or even wetlands, but it is thought that the hyphal mats of the CHEGD fungi are likely good carbons stores in their own right which could easily be destroyed if ploughed or otherwise disrupted – so planting trees in grassland habitats might not reap the dividends in terms of carbon offsetting that some might have us believe. Village greens and graveyards are among the kind of environmentally unsullied areas one might expect to find waxcaps, but it seems the British Isles is rather blessed in terms of unimproved ancient grasslands, from the South Downs in Sussex to Hadrian’s Wall and in particular Scotland and Wales, from heaths to sand dunes and coastal slopes, and from hay meadows to roadside verges and the lawns of stately homes, as I discovered in a fascinating online talk given by Sean Cooch and Clare Blencowe this summer which was recorded and can be seen viewed here.  Meadow Waxcap (Cuphophyllus pratensis) As I mentioned in my July piece on the Beefsteak Fungus, we have quite a few fungi species in the United Kingdom which are relatively common here while rare on the European mainland, and we need to make more people aware of this, so that their habits are preserved and ancient trees are not chopped down or vital fields ploughed (such as with this regrettable faux pas by the National Trust last year). Habitat loss is key to the scarcity of the Date Waxcap (Hygrocybe spadicea), one of Britain’s rarest fungi, which is one of five species of grassland fungi that appear in the Section 42 list “Species of Principal Importance to the Conservation of Biodiversity in Wales”, meaning public bodies have a duty towards their conservation. It is the only waxcap on the list, which also includes Violet Coral (Clavaria zollingeri), Big Blue Pinkgill (Entoloma bloxamii), Olive Earthtongue (Microglossum olivaceum) and Dark-purple Earthtongue (Geoglossum atropurpureum). There are about 50 species of waxcaps in the UK, and while I’m not going to go into detail about them individually, the names alone should point towards their beautiful range of colours: Scarlet Waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea), Snowy Waxcap (Cuphophyllus virgineus), Honey Waxcap (Hygrocybe reidii), Splendid Waxcap (Hygrocybe splendidissima) and the Pink or Ballerina Waxcap (Hygrocybe calyptriformis). Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe conica) I’m opting for the Blackening Waxcap (Hygrocybe conica) as my fungi of focus for this post, in that it is the most easily to recognise: while its sticky and distinctively conical caps start off in a range of colours between red and orange, as they age or are damaged, they blacken in a quite unmistakeable manner, eventually going completely black and looking a bit like a witches hat. It is also the most common, although now it is thought that rather than a single species, it is actually a species complex or a group of very closely related separate species. Waxcaps are most commonly found from mid-September to the first frosts in November. If the colours and textures of these beautiful fungi aren’t enough to get you out and about hunting, then like the Standing Oak Tree Fungus Survey I mentioned in my Beefsteak Fungi post, the Waxcap Watch Survey currently being conducted by the international conservation organisation Plantlife might provide further incentive to get involved in an invaluable citizen science project. A Blackening Waxcap beginning to blacken. No real mycological knowledge is needed for this. The basic guide is to find a suitable area and check it out for these CHEGD, and only record the number of different colours of what you find. Whether you find much or don’t, enter the results using the App downloaded from the website, and they will be recorded on this interactive map. Some sites might not yield much, but they will at least be marked on the map as a red dot meaning “not much was recorded at this site but it’s worth having a look another time.” In contract, Green will show a vast diversity of species, with orange somewhere in between. I’ve not entered any data myself at the moment, as I’ve not found anything yet this year, but whereas the evidence shows a great waxcap diversity of sites in Wales, Scotland and the Southwest of England, there is little evidence of anything in my surrounding area in Kent. This is certainly not to say there’s nothing there. In previous years I have discovered a good variety of waxcap species in the village of Keston, just outside Bromley, a Parrot Waxcap in the grounds of Walmer Castle, and Blackening Waxcaps aplenty in the reclaimed coal spoil site of Betteshanger Park outside Deal. I am clearly overdue a revisit to these sites to record these finds. The astonishing colours and textures of the Goblet Waxcap (Hygrocybe cantharellus) For those who wish to dig deeper into the subject, there’s a free downloadable PDF on the Plantlife website providing a basic guide to the identification and management of waxcap and grassland fungi, listing about a dozen species. A fuller range can be looked in this dedicated section in the fabulous First Nature website, and if the sheer number look a bit daunting, then you’ll be happy to read that the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre has provided this online Grassland Waxcap Identification Support Tool. Clare Blencowe details her love of waxcaps and the process behind developing this tool in the Newsletter of the National Forum for Biological Recording issue 58. And finally, the University of Aberystwyth provide a wealth of information on their Waxcap Website. Hopefully this will spur some of you on to head out into the grasslands on UK Fungus day and beyond to record your findings for the Waxcap Watch Survey. This kind of data provided by citizen scientists could prove really useful in making sure our unimproved or “unspoilt” natural areas remain so, and while there’s never been a case of a mushroom stopping a housing development, building up a public awareness of what we have in this country is essential. Blackening Waxcap  

If bumblebees are exposed to heat stress during their development (they go through four stages : egg / larva / pupa / adult or imago) their bodies develop asymmetries.  The wings in particular are affected, so the left and right wing are shaped differently.  This asymmetry can be measured and has been used by a team from the Natural History Museum and Imperial College to investigate how changing climate over time has affected bees. They investigated four species of bumblebee [Bombus hortorum, B. lapidarius, B. pascuorum and B. muscorum] in museum collections that dated back to 1900 CE.  The bees were ‘held’ in collections at various museums  [Natural History Museum (London), National Museums Scotland (Edinburgh), Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust (Carlisle) and World Museum (Liverpool)].   [caption id="attachment_38920" align="alignleft" width="300"] Landing[/caption] Using digital images of many bees collected at different times over the last 130 years, they measured the asymmetry of their wings.  The data from these measurements were then correlated with information about annual rainfall and mean annual temperature in the year the bee was collected.  It became clear that wing asymmetry was associated with hotter and wetter years; and that each of the bee species displayed greater asymmetry, hence stress, in the second half of the twentieth century.  As hotter and wetter conditions are predicted to become more frequent with climate change, it is probable that bumblebees will experience greater stress, indeed they may be in for a ‘rough time’ as this century progresses. Apart from investigating wing asymmetry, the team used a leg from some of the historical specimens to analyse the DNA / genetic make-up of the bumblebees (B. lapidarius).   With the DNA data from these bees (dating aback over a century),  the Natural History Museum and the Earlham Institute were able to construct a ‘reference genome’ - a standard against which they can see how bee genomes change over time.  This may ultimately reveal how bees are adapting (or not) to a changing climate / environment.