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Rufous milkcaps

 

 

The summer drought dragged into autumn: little water in creeks, even dug wells in the country emptyish.

 

Mycologists had hard work to collect show objects for mushroom exhibitions and the mushroom picker in the forest noticed the same. But rufous milk caps are always to be found so that mushroom flavour is not altogether forgotten. But they are quite worm-ridden this year although they have a bitter milky sap, and in an abundant mushroom year we almost don’t find any damaged rufous milk caps.

 

Wild mushrooms, both edible and „poisonous“ ones are damaged by the larvae of the fungus gnat family (Mycetophylidae), and there are about 300 species of thosed flying around in our forests.There are significantly fewer fungus flies, Platypezidae or flat-footed fungus flies, around 15 species and their larvae too, those white maggots that we know as ”mushroom maggots”. 

 

The imagos, or adults, of both mushroom flies and mushroom gnats and in addition some more little insects, lay their eggs beneath the mushroom cap, or into the foot of the mushroom where the hatched larvae feed. From the damaged mushrooms the larvae let themselves fall into the debris layer where they pupate and overwinter.

 

Mushroom maggot

 

_{(Estonian 19.10.2013)}