These fungusy things have appeared among our strawberry plants in a raised bed over the last couple months. They are about 10cm across and bright orange. Jane Touhey, Dublin 14
This is indeed a fungus, Clathrus ruber, the red latticed stinkhorn. It develops from a white “egg” to a smelly olive-brown coloured structure that attracts flies to disperse the spores. The red basket-like structure is what remains after this. It has been rarely recorded in Ireland.
I was planting some acorns today and came across this one with what looks like lots of baby millipedes coming out of it. Just wondering if this is actually what they are. Anthony Woods, Dublin
Yes, they are spotted snake millipedes, recognisable by their pale colour and red spots along the sides. The spots are actually glands that release pungent, protective fluids. Yours are not babies, however, but full-grown adults, as they only reach up to 15mm in length when fully grown. These are burrowing millipedes that feed on dead organic matter, so if they have been eating your acorn it is probably a goner as far as germination is concerned. They are common enough in cultivated soils.
RM Block
I was hiking above the Healy Pass on the Beara Peninsula on the Cork and Kerry border a while ago. I found this funnel-shaped spider’s web located in the long grass. The funnel was maybe 1-2cm in diameter. I was wondering what spider spun it? Eithne Robinson
This looks very like the web of a funnelweb spider – Coelotes atropos. Their web is a tubular retreat with a collar of silk at the entrance, and the spider hides within the tube. It occurs in habitats such as woodland and heathland, as well as on moorland where you found the web. While it is common and widespread in Wales and the western half of England, there doesn’t seem to be any Irish records of it.
This photo is of an acorn from an oak tree in St Enda’s Park, Rathfarnham. While there were many healthy ones there many also looked like this. Is this a gall on the acorn? Catherine Roche, Dublin
This is a knopper gall, so called from a German name for a type of helmet. It was caused by the tiny gall wasp – Andricus quercuscalicis. Earlier in the summer the females of this species laid eggs on the buds of developing acorns, and as soon as these hatched, they released a chemical signal which caused the acorns to grow in this way. These galls are greenish-yellow and sticky at first but “ripen” to a woody brown in early autumn and drop to the ground. The larvae pupate inside and emerge as adults the following spring – all females. These then seek out a Turkey oak and lay eggs on its catkins, from which both male and female wasps will emerge. This second, summer generation will go on to lay eggs on the developing acorns of native oak trees, creating the knopper galls you have photographed.
I noticed these spiders in the bathroom. Superficially, they look the same, but there are significant differences: the left-hand spider is noticeably larger with “thicker” legs, and the body shapes are different. Are they male and female or are they different species? Joe O’Neill, Wicklow
These are both female daddy long-legs spiders – Pholcus phalangioides. They hang upside-down from ceilings and the one on the left is carrying its loosely wrapped eggs in its jaws. Like every spider, this species has all its legs on its head. If disturbed they vibrate and whirl so furiously, they appear blurred – a defence mechanism against predators.
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