I've arrived in Aberystwyth where I'll spend the winter learning fungal (meta-)barcoding and working on some theoretical background for my research on plant-pathogen networks in grasslands. It was nice to find a species new to me as I explored the town: the rust fungus Puccinia umbilici on Navelwort

Thanks to everyone who gave me camera advice – as it turns out my grampa had a small camera he never used lying around that is absolutely perfect. I took it for a test run: here is Coleosporium euphrasiae on Eyebright and Podosphaera plantaginis on Ribwort Plantain. #FungiFriends

On Saturday I led a workshop on plant pathogens. We saw a wide variety of species and found just how ubiquitous this group is, in spite of rain and hail! It's been great to see more people recording pathogens, and I hope events like this will make it more accessible. #FungiFriends

My favourite wildflowers of the year,meadows of Devil's bit scabious and Purple loosestrife. A joy to see these meadows.#wildflowerhour

Gymnosporangium cornutum ex Sorbus aucuparia #Sorbusaucuparia #Sorbus #Eberesche #Vogelbeere #rowan #Sorbierdesoiseleurs #sorbodegliuccellatori #serbaldeloscazadores #Gymnosporangiumcornutum #Gymnosporangium #Phytopathology #Rustfungus #Rostpilz #Pilz #Fungus #Nature #FungiFriends

I had the pleasure of visiting a meadow managed by @donnarainey4.bsky.social today. Only when I got home did I notice the swelling on the midrib of this Dandelion leaf, which turned out to be the leaf smut Protomyces pachydermus. #FungiFriends

A clear sign we are no longer a democracy. When the regime loses in court, it continues to do the same illegal thing and no one is able to stop it.

An opportunity of a lifetime for budding lichenologists. The National Trust and the Royal Botanics, Edinburgh are offering a PAID lichen traineeship in #Scotland! The work programme looks fascinating and a great opportunity to develop skills. Deadline: 3/10/2025. www.asva.co.uk/jobs/trainee...

Phacellium alborosella on Mouse-Ear Chickweed. #FungiFriends #WildWebsWednesday

another dreech day on the bog

I visited one of Fermanagh's mythical species-rich grasslands today. They really exist, apparently. This one had a lot of Devil's-bit Scabious

Some nice Gymnosporangium rusts on Rowan today – they look a bit like sea slugs I think #FungiFriends

Some uncommon rusts in Fermanagh yesterday Uromyces trifolii-repentis on Trifolium repens, and Chrysomyxa empetri on Empetrum nigrum. This is the first Irish record of the former. #FungiFriends

I recently visited Abbeyleix Bog in Laois, which is a shockingly intact lowland raised bog (the only one I've ever seen that is actually still raised in the middle). I saw Exobasidium karstenii, a parasite of the lowland bog specialist Bog Rosemary. The shoots are red and hypertrophied #FungiFriends

A fly-killing fungus Entomophthora syrphi on its hoverfly host. It produces conidiophores which shoot spores like cannons by building up turgor pressure behind them. #FungiFriends

I was quite excited by this today – it seems to be the second global record of a Peronospora on Potentilla erecta. Peronospora potentillae-reptantis is known from some related species. #FungiFriends

🍄Microfungi on insects🍄 Fungi in the genus Hesperomyces are associated exclusively with ladybirds, visible as yellowish-greenish elongated balloons. We aim to map them in Europe and describe #newspecies. Join the #FunDive campaign! #Biodiversa fun-dive.eu/en/get-invol...

The uredinium of a rust fungus and two pycnidia of Ascochyta agrostidis on a leaf of Creeping Bent. These grasses are riddled! #FungiFriends

I saw two Perseid meteors last night (it was unfortunately quite overcast), a sparrowhawk attempting to catch a rabbit, and lots of bats!

Peronospora violacea is a common pathogen which is visible at the minute galling the flower heads of Devil's-bit Scabious. You can see in the left picture the elongated corollas extend past the bracts unlike the uninfected plant on the right. Note too the stamens have not developed. #FungiFriends

Starry Saxifrage and its rust Puccinia saxifragae on a nice flush today in Fermanagh. #FungiFriends

I took the first soil sample of my PhD today in a grassland managed by @ceanncait.bsky.social Lots of nice neutral grassland plants and at least 17 pathogen species in my plot – I will be analysing the network of interactions at each site and hopefully learning something about how the networks form

I think this is Protomyces kriegerianus, a leaf smut on Cat's Ear. This one seems to be very underrecorded – keep an eye out for swollen red spots on this host! #FungiFriends #PlantPathogens

"Those willing to toil over genuine questions will necessarily lose out to those that can furnish cheap answers." A timely and powerful must-read for anyone involved in science.

I am looking for #photography advice – I want to take higher-resolution photos of pathogens at this sort of scale (meso-macro; currently I use my phone). Is my best option carrying around a large DSLR and macro lens or is there a smaller option? And would I need to use focus stacking with a DSLR?

These blood-sucking arachnids can’t leap, but it turns out they can fly. Their secret? Static electricity. #ScienceMagArchives scim.ag/45ebK8B

1st Irish record of the newly described bryophilous ascomycete Endoantria benetecta on its host Lejeunea patens from the temperate rainforest at Correl Glen, West Fermanagh Known only from Scotland & Wales; this marks the first for Ireland - our rainforests support untold diversity #fungifriends

@dmac00.bsky.social took me to this neutral grassland today in South Armagh. We saw a Silver-washed Fritillary!

I found this mite gall today on Lousewort. The red galls have dense hair-like structures which the mites live inside. This one (Aculops pedicularis) has been found twice in Scotland and is known from elsewhere in Europe but this seemingly is the first Irish record. #galls

After spending some time in East Mayo back in May, a highlight was exploring some of the woodland along the shore of Lough Cullin. It was very uplifting to wander along this wild shoreline and see Bilberry above knee height and even the most palatable tree species regenerating.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: a short appreciation article. New piece by me in @britmycolsoc.org.uk's Field Mycology publication. ▶️ doi.org/10.63482/sa0... #OpenAccess @biodivlibrary.bsky.social

I've been seeing this powdery mildew on Sycamore recently – Phyllactinia marissalii. Unlike the more common Sawadaea bicornis, it is restricted to the underside and forms these single conidiophores. The upper side of the leaf has yellow patches where there are conidiophores underneath. #FungiFriends

On a beautiful island on Strangford Lough, I think this is the gall midge Geocrypta rostriformis on Ladies' Bedstraw. #Cecidomyiidae

I was pleased to find this downy mildew on Knotgrass yesterday, Peronospora polygoni. This is the first Irish record. It's one of the more subtle ones. #FungiFriends #PlantPathology

I think this is a female Dasineura urticae laying into nettles. There were galls of the same species lower down on the plant and it's the most common by far. #Cecidomyiidae

What's this?? Marsilea quadrifolia in Bucks. It looks like a Shamrock, but it's actually an aquatic plant! And a fern! This one had been planted and liked the shallows, producing dense vegetation.

OK here's a close up of Erysiphe aquilegiae ranunculi - not an easy subject to photograph! 🙄

I visited some staggeringly beautiful hazel rainforest and neutral~calcareous grassland in the Belfast hills yesterday. Much of this was privately owned until last year when the National Trust bought it, expanding their Divis reserve.

Two species on Oleander in central London today: a leaf spot (either Septoria or Boeremia) and a bacterial gall (Pseudomonas savastanoi pv nerii). #FungiFriends

Galeopsis speciosa (large flowered hemp nettle / y benboeth amryliw) in Montgomeryshire today, with its leaf beetle Chrysolina fastuosa.

A gall midge, Loewiola centaureae, on Centaurea ~nigra. I think this is the first record for Surrey. This one really reminds me of the Dasineura spp. on Meadowsweet. #Cecidomyiidae

Some time exploring uplands the last few days has brought some tiny tiny delights; Bistorta vivipara (Alpine bistort) known from just 4 hectads in Ireland, it enjoys an altitude of around 660m at this location. Very much the quiet and inconspicuous type- my favorite 🌿

Exciting Knepp Estate finds so far have included a Glow-worm, a species I've wanted to see for many years. #rewilding

Found some Red Bartsia in the long grasses by the barn yesterday and dropped everything to go down a hemi- parasitic rabbit-hole. Excellent article by @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social on Hemi-Parasitic plants of Ireland: irishplants.org/blog/2022/12... 🧵 #IrishWildflowers 1/2

Three powdery mildews in the Gloucester Services carpark: Erysiphe aquilegiae ranunculi on Meadow Buttercup, Podosphaera fragariae on Creeping Cinquefoil, and Erysiphe trifoliorum on Red Clover #FungiFriends

Pucciniastrum circaeae and Puccinia circaeae, two rusts on Enchanter's Nightshade at Stormont #FungiFriends

Uromyces geranii, a common rust on Herb Robert #FungiFriends

First time visiting Banagher Glen and I was thoroughly impressed. Plenty of temperate rainforest species - the lichens of particular note. Woodland is very healthy. More acidic areas dominated by oak had a lovely understory of bilberry and cow-wheat. More basic ash-hazel wood was also amazing!

A larva of a rust-eating midge (Mycodiplosis) feeding on spores of Puccinia arenariae on a leaf of Silene dioica #Cecidomyiidae #FungiFriends