10 

 A FEW BOTANICO-ENTOMOLOQICAL NOTES. 



Fungi have not been so abundant in this district during 1910 as they were the previous year, 

 but few fresh ones coming under my notice — one or two of these, however, were of more than usual 

 interest. 



Towards the end of September I met with a few plants of the remarkable Co7-dijcepi militaris spring- 

 ingupand showing their pretty orange-red club-shaped heads among the dark green moss, Polytrichum 

 ^ormosum, resembling to some extent a Clavaria, but belonging to a very different class of fungi — the 

 spores in the last-named being developed on basidia surrounding the smooth clubs, whereas the 

 club of Con? yceiys is tubercled from the projecting mouths of the perithecia, which cuatain the asci 

 and their enclosed sporidia — hence they are asco ?)iycefo»s fungi. Moreover, they will in most eases 

 be found to spring from an insect larva or pupa (fig. 1). 



Larva; are not unfreqxiently found infested with a mould which in some cases is the mycelium 

 that gives rise to the stroma of Isaria farinosa (see fig, 2) which is generally considered as the early 

 or conidial stage of Cordyceps militaris — though it would appear it does not always reach its more per- 

 fect condition. In this conidial stage they are white and nearly being covered with the sporules or 

 conidia, and hence formerly placed in a different class under the genus Jsaria. 



These fleshly stroma of the Jsitria were at first only a steiile branch from the mycelium but 

 eventually gave rise to the carpophore of the Cordyccps which is the means of bringing the fructifica- 

 tion into the air aud light so essential with these organisms which you grow from a larva or pupa 

 buried in the soil. It would seem that Isaria is much more often met with than the Cordyceps 

 (occasionally in the field as was our case once on a pupa near the surface at Charing) frequently 

 appearing in the breeding cages of the collector of insects to his annoyance and disappointment. 

 Only in the November number of the Entomologist a figure is given of this fungus which'had made its 

 appearance on pupa of a Geometer moth, which, of course, would not be bred. Indeed it has come 

 home to us here, for my friend Mr. C. Viggers, of this place, has had a colony come up in one of his 

 cages from a number of larvEC of Trachea piniperda which he colllected from Scotch fir last June. He 

 has kindly handed the lot over to me, as I am desirous of seeing if anything further is developed from 

 them ; at present they have nothing but the stroma of the Isaria peeping above the soil. One advan- 

 tage of such cases is that we know the species of larva on which they are growing, when dug up at 

 large the host is generally past identification. It is not unlikely, however, that larvEe of the various 

 species of Tmniocampa, (to which family T pinipcrda belongs) will often fall victims, for they feed 

 durint' the early summer months, assuming the pupa state in the ground at once, but not emerging 

 as moths till the following spring, so the sporidia of the Cordyceps may be washed by the autumn 

 rains into the soil to their suitable nidus. 



It has been questioned whether the caterpillars are attacked while still alive — it would seem they 

 generally are. In the case of our larvae of T.jrinijjerda they were particularly fine and healthy looking 

 when full-fed and ready to enter the ground ; such as have been e-xhumed, indeed, even made the 

 last moult, assuming the pupa state as can be seen in Pig. 2. 



It is not unlikely my friend introdviced the germs in some light soil brought in on purpose for 

 them to enter for pupation — when in such a confined space as the small cage, many might be attacked 

 while still alive, it is not so likely they became infected while feeding on the fir trees on the chalk 

 downs. 



Then we have Instances on record of allied species being found on living insects, sometimes even 

 in winged state and flying about with their fungus burden on them — hence the term " Vegetable 

 ■wasps." 



Another instance (though a different mouldl is that of the common housefly, which is familiar to 

 most people as it flies about in the autumn, settling down finally on a window pane, where the 

 sporules may be seen discharged around it, this is the Empus.i musca. 



There seems much difference in the form assumed by Isaria farinosa, judging by figures that have 

 been given, that in the November number of the Entotnulogist shows it as broad and coral-like, while 

 one o-iven in a former number is represented by a few filiform sprouts from a larva), ours on T. 

 piniperda are something between the two, as may be seen in Fig. 2, though they are not aU so slender 



as the one figured. , , , . 



Isaria /arinosa has been found on the caterpillar of Maviestra orassirce, so it would seem that 

 for once, a mould may have the credit of being indirectly beneficial to vegetation, in thus tending to 

 keep in check that pest, the common cabbage moth. 



Another fundus nearly allied to Cordyceps, is known by many botanists as a bright orange growth 

 encircling the culms of grasses during the summer months. Tais is Epicldoce typhina, having some 

 resemblance to the reed-mace (Typha) on a small scale. 



It covers the grass stem to the length of half an inch to 2 inches — it is at first white, being in an 

 analoo-ous ccmdition to the Isaria of the CoriZj/ccjis— eventually it becomes luberculated with the 

 ostiola of the perithecia and is then conspicuous from its bright orange colour (Fig. 3). 



Durin" 1909 the stUl more scarce Cordyceps capitata was found at Westwell — but not being 

 recognised°(Fig. 4) at the time, the host was not looked for, or it would probably have turned out to 

 be another fun^jus, an underground puff-ball Elaphomyccs graiiulatus, belonging to the same family 

 as the Truffle. ^, ^, . 



This calls to mind another fungus parasite met with this year much more frequently than has 

 been noticed before. It is the Boletus parasiticus on the hand puff-ball Scleroderma vulgare, but 

 Boletus and host being of much the same colour, it is probably often overlooked (Fig. 5). 



