I took the following shots a few days ago ...
... when I stopped by the road surrounded by woods, somewhere in between the city and my hometown, to eat a piece of poppy seed pie bought in the bakery at the edge of town, after doing some work in the city. It was a nice, sunny morning ... I was looking at the lush vegetation while chewing my piece of pie, and the forest looked very inviting ... I had the sensation that there is something there for me, so I decided to stretch my legs a bit when I finish eating.
After the short walk along the path that leads through the forest, just about 50 meters or so ...
... I noticed some vividly colored slimy stuff on the bark of some old oak tree overgrown with ivy.
I don't know the exact species of this jelly - like fungi ... maybe is the Dacrymyces chrysospermus ... or Tremella aurantia ... something like that, I don't have much expirience with this kind of fungi, I encounter them very rarely here in my area.
This piece of jelly stood out from the rest, it looked almost like some alien animal.
With all that colorful jelly stuff in front of my eyes. I didn't notice at first this pretty big Ganoderma applanatum that looked like some strange folding of the tree's own bark, when seen from above.
From this lower prospective the mushroom is more visible ... and in fact, I noticed it while crouched, after taking enough photographs of the jelly - like formations underneath.
This is a Saprobic and sometimes parasitic fungi that grows alone or in groups, usually on decaying logs and stumps, or (less often) from the wounds of injured, living trees ... that will die sooner with the Ganoderma applanatum on them. These pretty large fruiting bodies are perennial and hard as wood.
While exploring the upper side of the mushroom, I noticed some strange little fragments ... that looked like desiccated plant parts, small dead leaves or seeds ...
... only after a better look through the macro lens ... and with a flash to light up the gloomy atmosphere in the deep shade on the forest floor ...
... I realized that I was looking at the mating pair of some well camouflaged bugs ... and this morning, while preparing this post, I learned that this are the Aradus depressus flatbugs (Aradidae family)
It was a very exciting encounter because I never saw this interesting species before. These bugs live under the bark of trees infested by fungi. Both nymphs and adults prefer birch, but they can also be found on other trees, like oaks and elms.
Here you can see the wingless nymph of this species ... and on the following, enlargeable photograph ...
... you can take a better, enlargeable look at the same nymph. And that's it ... I'm very happy that I can present something for this Fungi Friday, because usually I don't see fungi related stuff in this period of the year here in my area ... as always in these posts on HIVE, the photographs are my work - THE END.
