‘Shrooms and Bugs — Here Yesterday and Gone today!

THE WILD SIDE

By Maria de Bruyn
Columnist

Despite recent showers and somewhat heavier rainfalls, our area is still suffering the consequences of ongoing drought. This has been evident in the relative dearth of insects and flowering plants that I’ve been seeing in woods and nature reserves. But a few periods of heavy rain did result in a temporary eruption of vegetation, including quite beautiful fungi in various areas.

My knowledge of mushrooms is limited, so I’ve hopefully identified the ones shown below correctly (if not, let me know!). I wouldn’t be willing to pick mushrooms in the woods to take home for a meal. But seeing them is always delightful. Their differing shapes and colors can brighten up a forest floor.

Top left: lobster mushroom. Top right: Russula mushroom. Bottom left: turkey tail mushroom. Bottom right: varnish shelf mushroom. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn

I learned some new-to-me facts about fungi while reading about them online, and I now find them even more interesting. For example:

• Biologically, mushrooms are more like animals than plants ,as they come from a common ancestor that separated from plants about 1.1 billion years ago.
• Some mushrooms are bioluminescent, glowing in the dark.
• The shaggy mane mushroom actually eats itself.
• There are mushrooms that can digest and convert polyurethane plastic into organic matter.
• The vegetative parts of mushrooms found underground connect them to one another and also to trees, allowing them to share nutrients and “information”.
• The world’s largest organism found so far is a honey mushroom in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest, covering over 2,385 acres.

Fungal common names can be quite descriptive. “Dog vomit slime mold” certainly comes close to the mark in giving you an idea of what this fungus looks like. “Old man of the woods” doesn’t really make me think of elderly males, however, while “destroying angel” mushrooms don’t look all that dangerous to me.

Top left: dog vomit slime mold. Top center: old man of the woods mushroom. Top right: destroying angel mushrooms. Bottom left and right: hibiscus scentless plant bug on hibiscus pods.   All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn

I did make what I thought was an alarming discovery when looking at rose mallow pods. Hummingbirds were nectaring on flowers near them, and when I looked at the opening pods, I noticed a trio of bugs I had never seen before. They were quite colorful but avoided being out in the open when I got too close. When I backed off, two emerged briefly, and I was able to take a quick photo.

When I used online media to identify them, they were identified as nymphs of spotted lanternflies — a bug that we have been warned is invading the United States. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) warns:

“Early detection is critical in stopping its spread and minimizing the devastating effect it could have on NC landscapes and agricultural crops, particularly grapevines, fruit trees, and a wide range of hardwood trees. The messy honeydew they secrete also causes problems by attracting ants, wasps, and black sooty mold to neighborhoods and businesses, affecting property values, tourism, and human health.”

I reported the sighting to NCDA&CS along with the photos I had taken. Fortunately, they responded quickly and said: “What you have found today is the hibiscus scentless plant bug, Niesthrea louisianica. Fortunately, this is not a species of regulatory concern. You can read more about them here https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/hibiscus-scentless-plant-bug. 

Spotted lanternflies have been seen in North Carolina, so do be on the lookout for them and report them to NCDA&CS. Articles online explain how you can eradicate them if they happen to show up where you live.

On a brighter note, there are some bugs that we can enjoy seeing — butterflies and moths!

Although I haven’t seen as many butterflies this year as in the past, some beauties have appeared during my walks.

Top left: common wood nymph. Top center: gemmed satyr. Top right: silvery checkerspot. Bottom left: sleepy orange. Bottom right: monarch butterfly. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn

Very pretty moths and industrious bees have been around as well. A surprise finding was a cicada’s shed skin after molting and an enjoyable spotting took place when I watched a juvenile Eastern bluebird wrestling with a caterpillar it had caught for a meal.

Top left: black-bordered lemon moth. Top right: green cloverworm moth. Bottom left: American bumblebee. Bottom center: cicada’s shed skin after molting. Bottom right: juvenile Eastern bluebird wrestling with a meal. All photos by ©Maria de Bruyn

The birds’ migration season has just begun so the coming month should be fun looking for temporary avian visitors passing through our region and communities. I hope you have a lovely September month coming up with some pleasant time spent outdoors!

Maria de Bruyn participates in nature-oriented citizen science projects and volunteers for the Orange County Senior Center. More of her photos are on Blue Sky (@mdb2024.bsky.social), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bruynmariade) and in blogs (https://mybeautifulworldblog.com). This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press