Found on an ash stump this morning were the early-stage fruiting bodies of a slime mould, possibly Badhamia utricularis. They will eventually mature and turn grey. This slime mould is fungivorous, growing and feeding on various types of fungus.

Having recorded my first ever fungus gnat larva just yesterday, I found another in close proximity to the slime mould.

They were first seen by others just over two weeks ago, yet I saw my first Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) only this morning. Also noted was a patch of Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) beginning to flower. This is a plant that given the right climatic conditions can produce two generations in a year.

While photographing the bittercress I was aware of some movement just beyond the fringes of the bittercress patch and had to search carefully to relocate what tuned out to be the larva of a Carabidae ground beetle.

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