Mosquito Orchid Pollinators the Highlight : May 20 2023

Started out a slow day under a clear sky. Late nights are taking their toll. Spent the morning cruising a bit. Started writing up the options expiry trades. Did have a few things to do in the afternoon. Got out on the bike a little earlier with a view to walking the far section of Seven Mile Beach NP - 8 kms to ride.

Changed the plan. A few days back I spied from the track a sign for Seven Mile Beach NP and figured that was a good point to walk the middle section of the track not walked. Humped the bike the 50 metres to the track and walked North - budding helmet orchid was the first reward.

Plenty of mushrooms

Stages of helmet orchid. No spurs gives suggestions on ID

A bit more open and a few bristles showing

Not quite full but enough to know it is fringed helmet orchid - corybas fimbriatus

Greenhood rosette in among the mosquito orchids

Heaps of mushrooms

The day really became a day for mosquito orchids. Struggling for ID. The width and purple stripes on the helmet say pixie caps. The lack of bristles on the labellum say acianthus pusillis

This too looks like a hybrid of exsertus and fornicatis

This is what really got my attention. Almost every acianthus orchid had a riny fly in attendance - the pollinator

This one inside

Maybe the best photo. Context is the flower is two match heads long. The fly is less than half of that

More context. This little flower is no wider than the acianthus is long

Over the shoulder

Another colony of helmet orchids in stages

And fully flowering - corybas fimbriatus

Different colour form of pixie caps - more green and less burgundy

Budding greenhood

This palm seed marker is the marker for how far I walked the track coming south a few days back. Turn around time

A few step back photos - big eucalyptus and a few palms

Nice afternoon light and no wind

Silver mushroom - about the size of a tablespoon

ID for this greenhood is a challenge. Looks like a cobra greenhood but has no leaves on the spike

Matching rosette

Mushrooms always

Pixie caps orchid

Did find the greenhoods - maybe at the overlap of the walk I did coming north a few days back - pterosylis concinna

Matching rosette.

Found this cluster of greenhood rosettes with a few buds (10 in frame). Lay down across the track to get a photo of the best developed. Hear a noise and jump up into the orchids. Lady cyclist had arrived with no warning. She did stop. She thought this was a dead body on the track. She did like the orchids as there were two types open right there

And one with its pollinator - photo taken for the lady

Have now walked the best 2 kms of this track. Finding a marker on the road was genius

This is the marker on the track that I had walked to a few days back.

Then came across this greenhood. Its helmet is a bit longer

It does not have the cleft labellum or the pointy split on the helmet. Thinking pterostylis oblonga

Matching rosette

And side on - the hard part is it is two months early for the other candidates. Must be pterostlyis concinna

The idea to chop into the middle of the track to walk the unwalked section was great. Orchids were many. And it meant I was back home earlier than planned - no leeches were a bonus

Had my shower. Then we headed out to the local nursery having a sale. It was closed. So we took the time to go up to Mountain View Estate to taste some wine. We have had our house here over a year and not stopped in

View of the sunset over the Southern Highlands were crystal clear

Looking west over Berry. Wine was good. Joined the wine club. They do pizza nights on Friday and Saturday. Also GF - will be back

Had dinner with our friend to finish off the duck we brought down from Sydney. Duck 3 nights out of 4 is pretty special.

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Cycling, Daily Activity, House Chores, Photowalking