Our fungal and insect diversity – only a tip of the iceberg has been touched

Geastrum triplex-a rare earthstar

mushroom

Puffballs….Gasteromycetes

Sprassis crispa-jelly

fungi

Vovariella –an edible

species

Omphalina-a rare

basidiolichen

Tree lichens

Lignicolous

basidiomycetes

Edible oyster

mushrooms

on dead

trunk of silk

cotton tree

Marasmius sp. Form a fairy ring pattern

Rare Hygrophorus sp.

Parasol mushroom-

Macrolepiota procera is common

A toxic mushroom-Cortinarius sp.

Boletus

aestavalis

mycorrhizal

with

banyan tree

Fungi in action…

Campus supports a variety of lives;

It is a biologically rich oasis….

Take a stroll along the library cirlce during rain; you will invariably notice these mushrooms:

From the campus:

(copied from maria’s thesis)

Carissa flowering

Ficus fruiting

On live leaves show symptoms of leaf-spots

Microscopic examination reveals presence of stroma, conidiophores and conidia

Mononematous

Blastic

Foliicolous fungi on Ficus tree leaves in the campus

Mound building, fungus cultivator termites rule the subterranean world in the campus

Termites play a powerful role in aboveground litter decomposition

The red arboreal weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina dominate the campus vegetation build foliar nests and herd scale insects

Various leaf nests of red weaver ants

Stick insects camouflage so nicely in surrounding grass.. Many such species are seen in the campus after monsoon

Nocturnal rest…

Dragonflies enjoy the

campus

Wild honeybees are enterprising main pollinators

Spiders are strategic

opportunists…

Social wasps believe in team spirit….

Waiting for a feast…

Countless beetles appear from nowhere…

Photuris sp. –fireflies are seen from June to October

Better than the hydrofoil-the water spider

A foliar race…