Wax on, wax off

While pupping Grey Seals and bird migration often capture the imagination and gets the pulses racing in the autumn on Skomer, there are lots of other autumnal delights to enjoy. One of which is the colourful displays of grassland fungi on the island, and not least the Waxcaps. Not only are they colourful, but they are also a good indicator of unimproved, natural grassland, and are a group of species which have declined rapidly throughout the UK due to the administration of fertilisers to the soil. Well worth looking out for!

Hygrocybe punicea Crimson Waxcap

Hygrocybe punicea Crimson Waxcap

Parasol

Hygrocybe ceracea Butter Waxcap

Hygrocybe chlorophana Golden Waxcap

Hygrocybe calyptriformis Pink or ballerina Waxcap

Hygrocybe calyptriformis

Hygrocybe conica Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe coccinea Scarlet Waxcap

Hygrocybe psittacina Parrot Waxcap 

Hygrocybe conica Blackening Waxcap

Hygrocybe pratensis Meadow Waxcap