"Waiting at the Gate" "BIG visit to Whipsnade Zoo 6th September 2016" P1050825
BIG visit to Whipsnade Zoo 6th September 2016
Good afternoon all
This mailing reports on the Whipsnade excursion and also gives updated details of our two remaining excursions for this year and the BNHS Conference.
Whipsnade Zoo
Eighteen people (including three from Northants Group) came on the Whipsnade excursion. We were allowed to take in three cars and also had a zoo vehicle to transport people between the various areas that we looked at. We were escorted by the zoo vehicle in convoy around the zoo, going contrary to the one-way system with hazard lights flashing! We had two staff with us throughout the day and met up with keepers on various sections as all the areas we visited were not open to the public. The weather was warm and largely overcast but with little wind. The day proved highly productive both in terms of species and in developing excellent links with the zoo. With a wide range of interests/ groups covered the final list will undoubtedly be very impressive. Between us we also recorded the flora and fungi. There were some good finds and among these are certainly three new county records that I am aware of so far. Sheila Brooke found a Notostira grass bug species which Bernard Nau dissected and which proved to be Notostira erratica [Miridae], a local species in the UK and new for Beds. Ian Dawson added yet another barkfly (Psocoptera) to the Beds list. This was the nationally uncommon Peripsocus didymus. The third new one was a fungus and I have included information below on this and another fungus find that attracted interest from several participants. Those not interested can just skip the next two paragraphs!
The rust on Hawthorn leaves (also behind the cheetahs, which I collected and also photographed) proved to be Gymnosporangium confusum which has peridial cells with oblique parallel ridges on the walls and aeciospores only 26 x 22 microns. G.clavariiforme which also occurs on hawthorn has curved peridial cells with scattered warts and larger aeciospores. Either of these two species would have been new for Beds. G. confusum is actually the rarer of the two in the UK! It is interesting that it’s alternate host is Juniperus sabina, a species from central and southern Europe rarely grown in the UK. (G. clavariiforme uses J.communis so that rust species is fairly common in areas of the UK where that native Juniper occurs, though of course we do not have it in Beds any longer and it is now scarce in south-east England generally). Juniperus sabina was also the known alternate host for Gymnosporangium sabinae which occurs on pear leaves. Formerly rare it suddenly became common and I have found it several times on pear leaves in Bedfordshire, the record from our garden was only about the fourth UK record!) It is still rampant here and I have found that it is now using an American juniper species in Clifton Grange as its telial host. It would be interesting to know what Juniper species the G. confusum is using. I am not aware of any cultivated Junipers at Whipsnade!
I at last got some mature spores from the little grey Mollisia that several of those who came photographed and I did when I got home. The genus was easily recognised but it is a huge and difficult genus with over 120 described species and many more yet to be described. I have had several collections that went to Kew but which remain unresolved. Although many are host specific on herbaceous and woody plants this was clearly a plurivorous species on wood, but without mature spores I could go no further. Anyway now these have matured they are somewhat allantoid (curved) 8-10 x 2 microns. The scattered rather than clustered grey fruit bodies dry yellowish to resemble 3-cornered hats. Protruding excipular cells are dark brown and clavate. Thus, although the fruit bodies are quite big for it this, it appears to be Mollisia ligni. It is a common one though for some reason I had not previously photographed it.
The zoo are certainly very keen to develop the relationship with BIG/ BNHS and we will have at least two further visits there next year, on one of which we will hope to look at some synanthropic habitats as well. They would also be happy for individuals to go in at other time to do recording work. Please note however that this is to record native biodiversity not just a free day out at the zoo! If anyone would like to get in at another time either individually or as a small group please let me know and I will make the contact for you.
"Waiting at the Gate" "BIG visit to Whipsnade Zoo 6th September 2016" P1050825
BIG visit to Whipsnade Zoo 6th September 2016
Good afternoon all
This mailing reports on the Whipsnade excursion and also gives updated details of our two remaining excursions for this year and the BNHS Conference.
Whipsnade Zoo
Eighteen people (including three from Northants Group) came on the Whipsnade excursion. We were allowed to take in three cars and also had a zoo vehicle to transport people between the various areas that we looked at. We were escorted by the zoo vehicle in convoy around the zoo, going contrary to the one-way system with hazard lights flashing! We had two staff with us throughout the day and met up with keepers on various sections as all the areas we visited were not open to the public. The weather was warm and largely overcast but with little wind. The day proved highly productive both in terms of species and in developing excellent links with the zoo. With a wide range of interests/ groups covered the final list will undoubtedly be very impressive. Between us we also recorded the flora and fungi. There were some good finds and among these are certainly three new county records that I am aware of so far. Sheila Brooke found a Notostira grass bug species which Bernard Nau dissected and which proved to be Notostira erratica [Miridae], a local species in the UK and new for Beds. Ian Dawson added yet another barkfly (Psocoptera) to the Beds list. This was the nationally uncommon Peripsocus didymus. The third new one was a fungus and I have included information below on this and another fungus find that attracted interest from several participants. Those not interested can just skip the next two paragraphs!
The rust on Hawthorn leaves (also behind the cheetahs, which I collected and also photographed) proved to be Gymnosporangium confusum which has peridial cells with oblique parallel ridges on the walls and aeciospores only 26 x 22 microns. G.clavariiforme which also occurs on hawthorn has curved peridial cells with scattered warts and larger aeciospores. Either of these two species would have been new for Beds. G. confusum is actually the rarer of the two in the UK! It is interesting that it’s alternate host is Juniperus sabina, a species from central and southern Europe rarely grown in the UK. (G. clavariiforme uses J.communis so that rust species is fairly common in areas of the UK where that native Juniper occurs, though of course we do not have it in Beds any longer and it is now scarce in south-east England generally). Juniperus sabina was also the known alternate host for Gymnosporangium sabinae which occurs on pear leaves. Formerly rare it suddenly became common and I have found it several times on pear leaves in Bedfordshire, the record from our garden was only about the fourth UK record!) It is still rampant here and I have found that it is now using an American juniper species in Clifton Grange as its telial host. It would be interesting to know what Juniper species the G. confusum is using. I am not aware of any cultivated Junipers at Whipsnade!
I at last got some mature spores from the little grey Mollisia that several of those who came photographed and I did when I got home. The genus was easily recognised but it is a huge and difficult genus with over 120 described species and many more yet to be described. I have had several collections that went to Kew but which remain unresolved. Although many are host specific on herbaceous and woody plants this was clearly a plurivorous species on wood, but without mature spores I could go no further. Anyway now these have matured they are somewhat allantoid (curved) 8-10 x 2 microns. The scattered rather than clustered grey fruit bodies dry yellowish to resemble 3-cornered hats. Protruding excipular cells are dark brown and clavate. Thus, although the fruit bodies are quite big for it this, it appears to be Mollisia ligni. It is a common one though for some reason I had not previously photographed it.
The zoo are certainly very keen to develop the relationship with BIG/ BNHS and we will have at least two further visits there next year, on one of which we will hope to look at some synanthropic habitats as well. They would also be happy for individuals to go in at other time to do recording work. Please note however that this is to record native biodiversity not just a free day out at the zoo! If anyone would like to get in at another time either individually or as a small group please let me know and I will make the contact for you.