CHAPTER VII 



THE RED SQUIRREL OF NORTH AMERICA AS A MYCOPHAGIST 



Introduction Squirrels Observed Eating Fungi Winter Stores of Fungi Storage 

 in Bulk Storage in the Forked Branches of Trees The Storage of Fungi 

 in Relation to Climate Two Chickens Hung in a Tree Summary 



Introduction. In the Transactions of the British Mycological 

 Society for 1916, an interesting paper was published by Hastings 

 arid Mottram upon the edibility of fungi for rodents. It was 

 shown by citations from other authors, by field observations, and 

 by a series of experiments, that both squirrels and rabbits attack 

 the fruit-bodies of many of the higher fungi and devour them as 

 food. 1 Two of their illustrations are here reproduced. The first 

 (Fig. 69) shows the upper surfaces of two Boletus badius fruit-bodies 

 which have evidently had their pileus-flesh gnawed down to the 

 tops of the hymenial tubes by some rodent. The tooth-marks are 

 exactly like those made by rabbits on fungi under experimental 

 conditions, and we may therefore conclude that the damage was 

 done by these animals. The second illustration (Fig. 70) shows 

 some of the subterranean fruit-bodies of Elaphomyces granulatus. 

 The right-hand fruit-body, which had been partly devoured, was 

 found at the surface of the ground in Oxshott Woods, Surrey. As 

 indicated by the tooth-marks, it had been unearthed by a rodent, 

 in all probability by a squirrel. Squirrels are attracted to the 

 fruit-bodies by their smell and dig down in the forest mould until 

 they find them. 



The investigations of Hastings and Mottram were made in 

 England, but their conclusion that squirrels and rabbits are 

 mycophagists doubtless applies not merely to British species but 



1 S. Hastings and J. C. Mottram, '' The Edibility of Fungi for Rodents," Trans. 

 Brit. Myc. Soc., vol. v. 1916, pp. 364-378. 



195 



