Pink Crust Fungus

An unidentified pink crust fungus on a the cut end of a conifer log.

I took a specimen and from it obtained the following spores (magnification x600, field width 86um):

These are about 16 x 10um.

First photo and specimen taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK on 2013-11-02.

Leaves on the Lake

In the autumn and winter the leaves that fall on the large lake tend to be blown by the prevailing westerly winds against the dam at its eastern end.  This is probably a cause of the luxuriant foliage that grows on the lakeward side of the dam in the spring and summer.

Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-12-07.

Crust Fungus

Wrinkled crust fungus, Phlebia radiata, growing on a fallen branch, probably from an oak tree.

I took the following specimen home with me:

And it yielded the following spores (magnification x600, field width 86um):

These spores are about 4 x 1.5um which is at the lower end of the range 4-4.5 x 1.5-2um given for Phlebia radiata  here.

First photo and specimen taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-12-24.

Another Dolichopodid Fly

From a year and a half ago: a male Poecilobothrus nobilitatus (Diptera: Dolichopodidae).  The white wing-tips are characteristic of the males of this species.

Photo taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2012-07-15.

Dolichopodid Flies

From last May: a pair of Rhaphium sp (Diptera: Dolichopododae) mating.

Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-05-18.