A good amount of rain has fallen in our area since late November.
Last night it was accompanied by unusual lightning in the form of "bursts" within the clouds that seemed quite limited in area lit though very charged.
Strong wind gusts accompanied this storm and it was this wind that afforded me the following two shots.
They are of a hive of European Bees that were living within a hollow branch.
Although the weather was still quite cool, there were 100 or so "sentries" keeping a cloud around the immediate area.
I am trying to get the swarm collected by resident apiarists and have yet to get a reply at the time of this post..
The last two weeks have been damp enough to allow the emergence of fungi, some of which I have pictured below.
This lovely yellow bracket type is quite small and was growing from an old wagon wheel.
Immediately above is a type of Puff Ball measuring around 3cm diameter.
The cup like fungi pictured below I have seen in the rain forests of the Southern Highlands, though was a new find for me here on the far south coast.
These small Puff Balls started brownish, though quickly went orange, as in the next shot, deflating as the slightest sunlight and warmth approached.
Hi David
ReplyDeleteStaying dry?
It has eased here at the moment. We have had lots of rain, but others have floods.
Your fungi are interesting.
Very general comments only from me, but your little Orange things are a kind of Jelly Fungus.
The cups are "Birds Nest Fungi", and the little "stones" (I was about to say "Little Pebbles" (but that name has been taken by a weird person near Nowra somewhere) those stones are sacks containing the spores.
The last one you described as looking like tiny Puff Balls are in fact a form of "Slime Mould" - the key is in their very temporary nature, as you noticed they virtually changed before your eyes.
Hope someone collected the Bees.
Cheers
Denis