Mushroom hunting

[DrStrange]

The mushrooms aren't toxic but the red efts certainly are!

On two separate occasions,
I witnessed an Eastern newt do something
which I have never heard of from anywhere else.

The newt had a minnow in a bear hug.
They were lined up belly to belly, head to head, tail to tail.
They were about the same size.
The newt was doing alligator roles with the fish near the surface of the pond.
Even though I was very interested,
it took too long for me to stick around and see how it ended.

My hypothesis is that the newt was poisoning the fish.

 

[slimshavy]

On two separate occasions,
I witnessed an Eastern newt do something
which I have never heard of from anywhere else.

The newt had a minnow in a bear hug.
They were lined up belly to belly, head to head, tail to tail.
They were about the same size.
The newt was doing alligator roles with the fish near the surface of the pond.
Even though I was very interested,
it took too long for me to stick around and see how it ended.

My hypothesis is that the newt was poisoning the fish.

Weird. I had heard it was the back of the newt that secreted the toxin, and that animals could attack the head and belly without harm. Also, I don't know about the easterns, but I know the rough-skinned newts out west are becoming increasingly toxic as they try to overcome the garter snakes who have developed resistance to the toxin. It's all fascinating!

 

[DrStrange]

Weird. I had heard it was the back of the newt that secreted the toxin, and that animals could attack the head and belly without harm. Also, I don't know about the easterns, but I know the rough-skinned newts out west are becoming increasingly toxic as they try to overcome the garter snakes who have developed resistance to the toxin. It's all fascinating!

In this case, I think the poison would have come from the newts belly
and absorbed through the fish belly, *IF* that's what was going on.

The newt poisoning the fish
is really just my best guess about what was going on.

 

[DrStrange]

1 August, 2024.
Chanterelles in Triangle today.
Too hot out for me to pick.

 

[DrStrange]

1 August, 2024.
Chanterelles in Triangle today.
Too hot out for me to pick.

There have been many frequent small rains lately.
Found some fresh chanterelles today.
If we have hamburgers tonight, I'm going to pick some.

 

[DrStrange]

Yesterday:

black trumpets




and chanterelles



and a mayapple