We had a gorgeous sunny day which gave us the perfect conditions to mosey around looking for mushrooms/fungi. We found lots of different species including Artist's Bracket, Wrinkled Club, Candlesnuff, Smoky Bracket, Sycamore Tar Spot, and Jelly Baby! Arden Hall has a lovely amount of dead wood and mature trees which makes it a great habitat for all sorts of fungi. Fungi are incredibly important as they help recycle dead material back into the ecosystem.
There weren't many insects about but we saw some great evidence of some moths in bramble and Horse-chestnut leaves! These wiggly markings are created by the caterpillar of a moth that is eating the internal tissues of the leaf, leaving a visible "mine" on the surface. Many mines (as well as the leaves they are on) are signature to a particular species which is what lets us know that we were looking at Golden Dot and Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner moths!
We also saw plenty of lichen, ferns, berries, (such as Hawthorn and Holly,) and ivy around! Ivy is a very important autumn plant as it is one of the few native plants flowering at this time of year, making it an essential stop for many late season pollinators!
There's more to discover at Arden Hall and the rest of Hyndburn's nature reserves, make sure you sign up to our newsletter to get first info about upcoming walks and events, or contact robert.gabryszak@prospectsfoundation.org.uk for more information.
Ruffle lichen species
Artist's Bracket fungus
Mushroom hunt!
Jelly Baby mushrooms
Squiggly leaf mines!