I often have to walk through the woods, along the shores & across the meadows all around Istra to get interesting material for long, elaborate macro-themed posts. Quite often, but not always.
On the 5th of November 2023, I went on an epic journey across my backyard. In today's post, I'll present what I found while exploring the juicy green grass of my lawn. Have a good viewing.
Here you can see a group of tiny, gracile mushrooms ...
... from the Marasmiaceae family.
The name of the species is Marasmius siccus. While observing the mushrooms ...
... I noticed an insect on the top of one of the many caps. A minute later, always on the same group of Marasmius siccus...
... I saw another one of the same kind.
This is the nymph ...
... a young, immature form of the Toya propinqua planthopper.
Here you can see an adult male with well-developed wings resting on the blade of grass.
This is a brachypterous female. Brachypterous means that the insect has rudimentary or abnormally small wings that can't be used for flying.
Both males and females can be brachypterous in this species.
Among the two types of adults and nymphs of various sizes, determining the age and sex of each insect can be a bit confusing.
I photographed quite a few of these planthoppers on the 5th of November 2023 so you'll see more of them later in the post but right now, I'm about to show you something else, for a change.
This is the Oxycarenus hyalinipennis ...
... a bug from the Lygaeidae family.
The bug was roaming the leaves of the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) when I took these photographs.
Oxycarenus hyalinipennis is a polyphagous vegetarian that feeds on various wild and cultivated plants.
Some dandelions were in bloom ...
... others had their seed ready to get carried by the wind.
Here you can see the Stomorhina lunata, a fly from the Rhiniidae family, feeding on the yellow flower.
This is the portrait of an iconic dandelion sphere made of seeds and their parachute-like appendages. In the following photograph ...
... I came closer to that fluffy sphere.
Here you can see a leafhopper ...
... that was resting on the leaf of the Stellaria media plant.
The name of the species is Euscelis incisus. The family is Cicadellidae, of course.
Stellaria media covers large patches of the lawn presented in today's post ...
... especially around the only pomegranate tree in my yard.
Here, you can see a predatory bug from the Nabidae family walking across its juicy leaves.
The name of the species is Himacerus mirmicoides.
In their immature, nymphal stage, these bugs resemble ants. Today, here in the post, you can see only an adult.
This robust, medium-sized mushroom surrounded by Stellaria media plants was also photographed near the pomegranate tree.
Here you can see a younger fruiting body that was growing in the same area. The yellow leaf shown in the right part of the shot has fallen from the pomegranate tree. In the following photograph...
... you can see a fruiting body partially covered with older, completely desiccated, brown leaves from the same tree.
These are all Leucoagaricus leucothites, mushrooms from the Agaricaceae family.
Here I used the macro lens to get closer to the ring of the fruiting body introduced in the previous photograph. A small brown fragment was glued to the white tissue of the mushroom and on that small piece of something the fruiting body picked up probably while growing through the leaf litter, a springtail wasn't easy to notice.
When the tiny arthropod moved and reached the stalk, it became more prominent on the white surface.
The springtail climbed the stalk quickly.
Here you can see it resting on the gills. When I took the following photograph ...
... the springtail was on its way back down.
The name of the species is Entomobrya multifasciata. The family is Entomobryidae.
A meter or two from the mushroom a ladybeetle was climbing the blade of grass. When the following photograph was taken ...
... the beetle was ready to fly away. The name of the species is Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata. The family is Coccinellidae, of course.
Here you can see a beetle I had never seen before the 5th of November 2023.
I found out the name of the species only today while preparing this post.
This is the Nimbus contaminatus ...
... a dung beetle ...
... from the Scarabaeidae family.
Here you can see yet another Toya propinqua planthopper.
Judging by the dimension of its abdomen, I'll say it's a brachypterous male. But I could be wrong.
A bit later, I came across another winged adult. In this case, I'm pretty sure that is a male.
This brachypterous female stood out from the rest ...
... becouse of its pale appearance. Maybe the insect recently came out of its nymphal exoskeleton.
Here you can see an old, decaying Leucoagaricus leucothites fruiting body that has grown in the corner of the yard covered prevalently with short grass.
When I took a better look at the top of the cap ...
... I noticed two springtails from the Entomobryidae family. In the following photograph ...
... one of them is entering the hole in the cap.
When I took this shot, the same springtail just came out of the tunnel in the mushroom's tissue.
The name of this species is Entomobrya marginata.
Here you can see a Psammotettix alienus leafhopper resting on the leaf of the Stellaria media plant. I took this photograph, and then ...
... the same leafhopper jumped on the blade of grass. In the following photograph ...
... I came a bit closer.
In this shot, a leafhopper nymph and an adult beetle are posing together.
When it comes to the nymph, I can't tell you the name of the species. It belongs to the Cicadellidae family, that's all I'm sure about. The beetle is an adult Nimbus contaminatus.
Here you can see the Phytomyza horticola, a tiny, leaf-mining fly from the Agromyzidae family.
This tryptich shows a moth caterpillar chewing a leaf of grass. Can't tell you the name of the species. The family is probably Noctuidae.
Here you can see a beetle from the Chrysomelidae chewing the leaf of the Malva sylvestris plant.
The name of the species is Podagrica malvae.
This is the Sminthurus viridis ...
... a tiny springtail from the Sminthuridae family.
These small mushrooms look like something from the genus Mycena of the Mycenaceae family. That's all I can tell you here.
At some point, while photographing the same group of fruiting bodies ...
... I noticed a pale Toya propinqua planthopper and a tiny, partially translucent caterpillar that I wasn't able to identify. In the following photograph ...
... I came closer so you can take a better look at the caterpillar. Can't tell you the name of the species but I'm pretty sure that is a moth caterpillar.
In this shot, the mushrooms are lit in a slightly different way.
Here you can see another leafhopper nymph ...
... that I wasn't able to identify.
Quite a few Cicadellidae species are hard to determine even in their adult stages, and when it comes to the nymphs ...
... identifying the species can be a very confusing task.
In this set of six photographs, you can see the nymph using its legs to clean its head, antennae, and abdomen.
After leaving this young leafhopper ...
... I noticed an interesting ladybeetle ...
... hidden under a leaf of clover.
This is the Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, a ladybeetle native to Australia but present in many other parts of the world. The smaller insect visible in the lower part of the shot, under the ladybeetle, is a Toya propinqua nymph. Less than a minute later ...
... a tiny, probably parasitoid wasp entered the scene.
After leaving the ladybeetle ...
... I walked to yet another Leucoagaricus leucothites mushroom.
I found two springtails on this one, both from the Entomobryidae family.
The Entomobrya multifasciata ...
... and the Entomobrya marginata ...
... were standing near to each other ...
... on the top of the cap.
I photographed quite a few springtails on the 5th of November 2023.
This small black insect ...
... is the Pachytomella parallela ...
... a bug from the Miridae family.
Here you can see the same bug from a different angle.
In this and the following photograph ...
... the Pachytomella parallela is posing next to the Toya propinqua.
In this tryptich, the Euscelis incisus is dancing. I mean, the leafhopper is cleaning its head and wings but it looks like some kind of performance.
This fly was also cleaning its wings.
Can't tell you the name of the species, it looks like something from the Lauxaniidae or Drosophilidae family.
This is yet another portrait of the Euscelis incisus leafhopper.
This tiny midge probably belongs to the genus Metriocnemus of the Chironomidae family. I mean, I'm not sure about the genus but the family is the right one.
Here you can see another insect of the same kind. Judging by their antennae, both midges are males.
In this shot, a Toya propinqua male is stretching two of its four wings. It's a very unusual pose for a planthopper. In the following photograph ...
... the same insect was closer to assuming its usual posture. It looks like one of its wings is slightly wrinkled.
This is just a boring portrait of an ordinary blade of grass.
Here you can take a quick look at the nicely illuminated details of the Erigeron bonariensis plant. In the following photograph ...
... you can see a medium-sized fly I wasn't able to identify.
The family is probably Anthomyiidae.
Here you can see another group of Marasmius siccus mushrooms.
Some of the Marasmius siccus caps I photographed on the 5th of November 2023 looked fairly fresh and juicy ...
... others were slightly ...
... or considerably shriveled.
The color was also different depending on the condition of the fruiting body. In the following triptych...
... you can see a Marasmius siccus mushroom from an angle that shows the gills under the cap.
In these two shots, the caps are photographed with the flash and in natural light.
This is the Cratyna nobilis ...
... a fungus gnat from the Sciaridae family.
Here you can see the top of a dandelion leaf photographed in the light of the late afternoon.
This wide shot shows the dandelions and a bit of the November scenery in my backyard.
Here you can see two mushrooms that look like the Cuphophyllus russocoriaceus mushrooms. I mean, they look like that, but ...
... but I'm far from being sure about what they are.
These two look like the same undetermined species. On one of them, a Sminthurus viridis springtail was posing.
Here you can see a small weevil from the Apionidae family. With quite a few very similar weevils around, I can't tell you which one exactly is this one.
I'm not sure about this small fly. It looks like a species from the genus Limnellia in the Ephydridae family. A Limnellia fallax, or Limnellia quadrata, maybe. Who knows. Maybe I'm right - maybe I'm wrong about this one.
This is the Toya propinqua. Again. I'm pretty sure that Toya propinqua is the most numerous insect species on my lawn in November.
And that's it.
The following links will take you to the sites with more information about some of the protagonists of today's post. I found some stuff about them there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marasmius_siccus
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/914828-Toya-propinqua
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycarenus_hyalinipennis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taraxacum_officinale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaria_media
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euscelis_incisa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himacerus_mirmicoides
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucoagaricus_leucothites
https://www.naturespot.org.uk/node/132018
https://www.flickr.com/photos/78925926@N08/35163120650
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyllobora_vigintiduopunctata
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_contaminatus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psammotettix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podagrica_malvae
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sminthurus_viridis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptolaemus_montrouzieri
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/624542-Pachytomella-parallela/browse_photos