#ecodiary

October 2025

🍄‍🟫All bodies of these fungi from the Boletaceae family are covered with a white or yellow coating — a fungal mold called bolete eater (lat. Hypomyces chrysospermus). The life of this mold is divided into three stages:

★ the first stage — white mold. The “host” is still alive and even continues to grow, although already infected;

★ the second stage — ripening. The hypomyces begins to turn yellow, which is why it earned the nickname “golden mold”;

★ the third stage — the completion of its development and life. Instead of, for example, a bolete, there is now a shapeless, decayed mass. At this stage, the hypomyces turns brown. The hypomyces literally decomposes and digests its host.

This species can be found in all areas where Boletus mushrooms grow💫

🍄‍🟫Все тела этих грибов из семейства болетовых покрыты белым и жёлтым налётом — грибной плесенью, именуемой гипомицес золотистоспоровый (лат. Hypomyces chrysospermus). Жизнь данного грибка делят на три стадии: ★ первая стадия — белая плесень: «хозяин» ещё жив и даже продолжает расти, хотя уже заражён; ★ вторая стадия — созревание: гипомицес начинает желтеть, благодаря чему получил прозвище «золотая плесень»; ★ третья стадия — завершение развития и жизни: вместо, например, моховика теперь остаётся бесформенная, сгнившая масса. В этой стадии гипомицес приобретает бурый цвет и буквально разлагает и переваривает своего хозяина.

It's been a while since I updated, and I apologise. The wonders of modern technology have failed me and a lack of permanent internet connection has stopped me accessing Eco Diary!

The short-haired bumble bee has not been spotted in Britain since 1986 and has been declared extinct in the UK since that time. However now for the first time in 30 years we can hope to see it flying around our meadows and pollinating our plants.

A re-introduction scheme has been launched in the hopes the species will re-establish itself across Britain. Several charities have teamed together with local farmers to encourage the bees to stick around.

Several queen bees were taken from Sweden, where the short-haired populations are growing, and after two weeks in quarantine they were released into the wild in Kent. Short-haired worker bees have been spotted since then, although the species will not be classed as permanent until new queens have descended from those released.

Incentive schemes have been created by Natural England to help farmers improve biodiversity on their land. This can be through planting wild flowers or leaving hedgerows unmanaged. Overgrown hedges are a haven for wildlife, especially small mammals such as hedgehogs and a variety of birds. Traditional farming techniques which are simple and cost-effective are being used by the farmers and it has been said they are the “key to success”.

It seems everything is going to plan as these once extinct bees are back; farmers and charities working together to help the short-haired bees find their feet (or wings!) in Britain and hopefully stick around for good.

For my American readers, its your Garden for Wildlife month! Improve your garden and make it a habitat and home for wildlife.

Anything from a bird feeder to a bug hotel will improve the wildlife you see in your garden. Check out the National Wildlife Federation's website for ways to transform your garden.

Try some of these different tips:

- Plant wild flowers to attract bees

- Install a bird feeder to attract different species

- Create a water dish to attract different species

- Create cover for small mammal species to hide underneath

- Plant a tree for many different species including tonnes of bugs

Why don't you try tracking the wildlife in your garden before and after to see if you've made an improvement? Be sure not to disturb any new visitors though!

Its National Volunteer Week this week. So what will you do to celebrate 30 years of fantastic contributions from allover the UK?

Why don't you try helping out in your local charity shop? Or find a conservation project going on in your area and get involved?

For more information on National Volunteers Week visit the website and take a peek at what others have tried in the past.

If you want to find out about projects and events in your local area visit various websites and have a look around. I have included a couple of suggestions below:

The Wildlife Trust

The Conservation Volunteers

And for those wanting to get involved in something a little bigger:

Global Vision International - Volunteering Abroad

How to make your Sustainable Peat-Alternative compost (scroll across the pictures above for directions):

Step 1 - Get yourself a bucket and the Coir Compost

Step 2 - Open up the little package to reveal something largely resembling a brick

(With a bit of effort the block can be broken apart to reveal the hairs and fibers it is made up of)

Step 3 - Place the Coir Compost in the bucket

Step 4 -Add 6 LITRES of water (warm water works best). My block floated on top of the water so I gave it a roll around to make sure the top was moist as well as the bottom

Step 5 - Leave the Coir Compost block in the water for 24 HOURS

Okay, so the title is a little misleading - but all you need is some water, a bucket and...a trip to your nearest Oxfam store!

Oxfam are selling blocks of Coir Compost. An environmentally friendly compost made from the coir fibre of coconut husks (pictured below)! The fibres from coconut husks is a perfect alternative to using peat and is usually just discarded. The block comes all the way from Sri Lanka and is a bargain at only £2.49!

  To make this dry and hard brick shaped package into glorious soil ready for planting all you have to do is add water and wait 24 hours. Adding 6 litres of water will make 9 litres of soil!

See my next post for my step-by-step photos on creating your own eco soil.

Then check back tomorrow to see the results!

Last week several blue whales washed up on the coast of a small town in Canada’s Newfoundland Island. One of the blue whales is currently massively swollen, and the people living in the surrounding areas fear it may burst at any time!

As the blue whale decomposes it will release lots of methane gas, causing it to bloat severely. The residents of the small town fear the whale will explode, making it even harder to move from their beach.

The small town say they are just not qualified to move a whale of this size as they exploring options such as moving it back into the sea. A scientist in the area who spoke to local news crews said that the normally whales are either buried or cut into small pieces so they can be shipped to local landfills.

The same scientist, Jack Lawson, said that the chance of the whale exploding is ‘very small’. Many people have compared this blue whale to the sperm whale washed up on a coast last year. The sperm whale exploded all over the beach, and the scientist that was about to dissect it! However Mr Lawson noted that this was probably due to the scientist sticking a knife into the whale to dissect it. Check out a video of last year’s sperm whale here

The 60-tonne, 25m blue whale was washed up on to the coast last week; it is believed to have died in the heavy ice a few weeks ago. It is understandable that people are visiting the blue whale, as it is the largest animal to have ever lived! The largest recorded blue whale was 35m long.

Unfortunately blue whales are currently endangered. These whales were hunted largely in the past and although commercial whaling of the blue whale is now banned illegal trade still continues. The slaughter of these whales peaked in 1931, when over 29,000 were killed in one season. The total blue whale population has declined by at least 70% over the last three generations; with the large Antarctic population declining by 97% over the same period. This number is astonishing, it is a wonder we have any blue whales left in our oceans!

Read more about these beautiful creatures here.