Skip to main content
Close

Wildlife Spotting

Photo by snowkirsten
Published on Project Noah
Zoom
NominateNominate for Wildlife Photograph of the Month
reportFlag Spotting

53.771, -0.396696

Field Notes

Description:

Appeared to be a single organism with soft 'spines' that looked somewhat like lichen. No others were seen whilst we were surveying the grassland that day. No appendages were visible. This may be an invertebrate or a lichen. Suggestions have included a gall, ladybird larvae and lichen.

Habitat:

Found in grassland near Hull, low down in the thatch of tall grasses (Yorkshire fog & false oat-grass chiefly present), on a dead blade of grass.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (4)

Cool. Cordyceps and similar are just freaky. In a good way.
An ID from iSpot I have received is: "It’s a fungus-infected insect. The fungus is Hirsutella (or something near that). Hirsutella are the imperfect (= asexual, = mould) stage of some species of Ophiocordyceps or Torrubiella. The same order as Cordyceps militaris which produces the orange sexual fruitbodies on Lepidoptera caterpillars." by Malcolm Storey (of http://www.bioimages.org.uk/).
Thanks Alice, it is quite similar to the mealybug destroyer. Perhaps it is related? Do you know of any similar organisms?
Photographed
PublishedAugust 30, 2012

Accelerate our Mission to Photograph 
Every Species in the World!

Image
Butterflies icon

Wildlife Community

Wildlife Community

Join a worldwide community passionate about wildlife and nature!

Join Project Noah

Nature School

Nature School

Transform your green space into a curiosity-creating nature classroom!

Visit Nature School

Wildlife Game

Wildlife Game

Defend wildlife throughout the jungle in thrilling nature game!

Play Baboon