Spores & Slugs?

[Macaroon]

I was struck by something today whilst walking in our now extremely wet woodland. It's been a very poor season here for Ceps, although it looked very promising early in the year. Those that have come are immediately devoured by slugs, however early or late I've got to my known collecting sites, the mushrooms are well and truly decimated by the slimy little..............

Anyway, what struck me was whether or not the spores form a fungal growth can survive the digestive system of animals and insects in the same way plant seeds survive, and in fact thrive, having been through the digestive systems of various birds and mammals? If the answer to this question is no, then it bodes ill for the regeneration of the ones that get picked as the slug population in this part of the country is massively out of control

Any ideas, anybody?

 

[Laurentius]

I don't know, but I do know this has been a terrible year for slugs, they decimated my early runner bean seedlings this year, rendered my potato crop inedible, and have taken more than there fair share of my turnips and beetroot, not to mention the brassicas.

 

[xylaria]

Slugs are important vectors for germinating spore. Quite a few mushrooms do better if eaten by something. What that something is differs from cows to squirrels to insects.

I got the book mycelium running for free on pdf. It goes into the whole interconnection of life the universe and fungi

 

[Macaroon]

Slugs are important vectors for germinating spore. Quite a few mushrooms do better if eaten by something. What that something is differs from cows to squirrels to insects.

I got the book mycelium running for free on pdf. It goes into the whole interconnection of life the universe and fungi

Excellent, thanks; now I know where to go look it up and read a little about it

 

[Clouston98]

Very interesting, I never even though of it working that way but it does make sense in a way. Hasn't been a particularly good year here- haven't really spotted anything much it but hopefully there is still some hope

 

[xylaria]

I past a huge funnel cap on my bike today. It was nasty weather and getting dark an hour too early because of it so I wasn't for stopping. Also generally this type of funnel cap is nearly always heaving with maggots. The fly maggots are part how it reproduces. Squirrels eat truffles and germinate the spore in thier guts, they poop under a hazelnut tree. The truffles form a relationship with the hazel roots. The hazel grows more vigorously and makes more nuts of a higher wieght. The squirrels get better fed. This is not uncommon either. Little Brown fungi that are eaten by grazing animals that improve grasslands and help the animal that eats them.

It is mind boggling.

 

[Macaroon]

It certainly is mind boggling; I downloaded the book/pdf you linked to and have had a bit of a read for an hour. I'm in for a lot of learning in the next few days

 

[Joonsy]

Slugs are important vectors for germinating spore. Quite a few mushrooms do better if eaten by something.

Nature has a way of going full circle, so in a way by eating the mushrooms the slugs are helping to ensure their will be more mushrooms to eat in the future -- in other words they are both helping in the survival of each other.

Regarding ceps I have always found they are particularly susceptible to suffer from slugs and maggots, more so than other fungi.