Fungi First
@fungifirst.bsky.social
An unapologetic mycophile wandering the woods of central Appalachia!
Not sure if these polypores I found on paper birch in New Hampshire are Northern Red Belt (Fomitopsis mounceae) or some other closely related Fomitopsis species, but I adore how red their belts are compared to other ones I’ve seen on spruce across the central Appalachians! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
December 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Not sure if these polypores I found on paper birch in New Hampshire are Northern Red Belt (Fomitopsis mounceae) or some other closely related Fomitopsis species, but I adore how red their belts are compared to other ones I’ve seen on spruce across the central Appalachians! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
This unidentified fungal culture 🍄🟫🧫is just stunning from top to bottom! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #mushrooms
December 5, 2025 at 8:16 PM
This unidentified fungal culture 🍄🟫🧫is just stunning from top to bottom! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #mushrooms
Trichoderma is a lot of things, but subtle is not among them! #FungiFriends
December 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Trichoderma is a lot of things, but subtle is not among them! #FungiFriends
You know you are obsessed with mushrooms when it takes you over a minute to realize this bird is not a mushroom.
December 2, 2025 at 3:06 AM
You know you are obsessed with mushrooms when it takes you over a minute to realize this bird is not a mushroom.
No one ever said “I wish my maple had butt rot,” but that won’t stop it from happening! The fungus responsible for this particular butt rot is Kretzschmaria deusta or the brittle cinder fungus! In earlier growth stages you can see a dusty gray mycelium with distinct white borders. #Mushrooms #Fungi
November 30, 2025 at 8:56 PM
No one ever said “I wish my maple had butt rot,” but that won’t stop it from happening! The fungus responsible for this particular butt rot is Kretzschmaria deusta or the brittle cinder fungus! In earlier growth stages you can see a dusty gray mycelium with distinct white borders. #Mushrooms #Fungi
Ok so this is super cool: I found what I thought was the Honeydew Eater fungus (Scorias spongiosa) on woolly alder aphids. However, based on what I read, it seems like Honeydew Eater is specific to the beech blight aphid. So is this a potentially novel Scorias sp.? #FungiFriends
November 29, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Ok so this is super cool: I found what I thought was the Honeydew Eater fungus (Scorias spongiosa) on woolly alder aphids. However, based on what I read, it seems like Honeydew Eater is specific to the beech blight aphid. So is this a potentially novel Scorias sp.? #FungiFriends
The winter fungi did not disappoint here in the West Virginia Highlands! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
November 29, 2025 at 9:53 PM
The winter fungi did not disappoint here in the West Virginia Highlands! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
Snow here at 3700 ft (1130 meters) here in the West Virginia Highlands!
November 29, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Snow here at 3700 ft (1130 meters) here in the West Virginia Highlands!
As someone who purchased three copies of this book for friends, I will say this: it’s a wonderful book and you should buy one for yourself and one for someone else. Mindy is a super talented storyteller! Supporting hardworking writers & artists is not only important but it also makes you feel good!
Do you like zombies + science? I wrote a book about that! It's perfect for anyone who's ever wondered what it takes to mind-control a cockroach, reprogram a spider's web-spinning, or make a cricket jump into water to drown 🧪
And it's 40% off at @hopkinspress.bsky.social, now through 12/7 (HHOL25)!
And it's 40% off at @hopkinspress.bsky.social, now through 12/7 (HHOL25)!
November 26, 2025 at 11:16 PM
As someone who purchased three copies of this book for friends, I will say this: it’s a wonderful book and you should buy one for yourself and one for someone else. Mindy is a super talented storyteller! Supporting hardworking writers & artists is not only important but it also makes you feel good!
Everyone should enjoy a good late season puffball smashing to help spread the spores, just be sure to avoid inhaling the cloud as doing so can potentially result in something called Lycoperdonosis, a respiratory disease caused by inhalation of large quantities of warty Lycoperdon spores. #Mushrooms
November 26, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Everyone should enjoy a good late season puffball smashing to help spread the spores, just be sure to avoid inhaling the cloud as doing so can potentially result in something called Lycoperdonosis, a respiratory disease caused by inhalation of large quantities of warty Lycoperdon spores. #Mushrooms
Reposted by Fungi First
I really wish more scientists & artists were on here. When I go to in-person gatherings it’s really clear what a small sliver of us are here.
And I get it, how many social media collapses do you have to weather before you just give up?
But organizing would be so much easier if we were all here 😭
And I get it, how many social media collapses do you have to weather before you just give up?
But organizing would be so much easier if we were all here 😭
November 24, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I really wish more scientists & artists were on here. When I go to in-person gatherings it’s really clear what a small sliver of us are here.
And I get it, how many social media collapses do you have to weather before you just give up?
But organizing would be so much easier if we were all here 😭
And I get it, how many social media collapses do you have to weather before you just give up?
But organizing would be so much easier if we were all here 😭
After years of searching in the forest, I finally found what appears to be a wild semicolon! #Fungi #Mushrooms
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 AM
After years of searching in the forest, I finally found what appears to be a wild semicolon! #Fungi #Mushrooms
Everyone loves to talk about Mothman, but almost no one including those in the cryptozoology community is willing to talk about the biggest threat to its survival, Akanthomyces, the unapologetic moth-destroying fungus! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
November 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Everyone loves to talk about Mothman, but almost no one including those in the cryptozoology community is willing to talk about the biggest threat to its survival, Akanthomyces, the unapologetic moth-destroying fungus! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
Mycoparasitism starts somewhere, but with Trichoderma, it doesn’t take long before that somewhere is everywhere. #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
November 24, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Mycoparasitism starts somewhere, but with Trichoderma, it doesn’t take long before that somewhere is everywhere. #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
It may be late November here in the north central Appalachians, but that doesn’t stop stinkhorns from stinkhorning!
November 23, 2025 at 10:44 PM
It may be late November here in the north central Appalachians, but that doesn’t stop stinkhorns from stinkhorning!
Though I’ve only encountered it a handful of times, the aborted form of the blushing rosette (Abortiporus biennis) is among my favorite fungi! These coral-like projections are not filled with basidiospores, but instead are filled with ellipsoid to subglobose asexual chlamydospores! #Mushrooms
November 23, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Though I’ve only encountered it a handful of times, the aborted form of the blushing rosette (Abortiporus biennis) is among my favorite fungi! These coral-like projections are not filled with basidiospores, but instead are filled with ellipsoid to subglobose asexual chlamydospores! #Mushrooms
The woods were appropriately filled with winter chanterelles (Craterellus tubaeformis), Late Oysters (Sarcomyxa serotina), and an inordinate number of decomposing Common Earthballs (Scleroderma citrinum)! #Mushrooms
November 23, 2025 at 12:44 AM
The woods were appropriately filled with winter chanterelles (Craterellus tubaeformis), Late Oysters (Sarcomyxa serotina), and an inordinate number of decomposing Common Earthballs (Scleroderma citrinum)! #Mushrooms
When I went to the woods today, I did not expect to find so many depressed hedgehogs (Hydnum umbilicatum). Needless to say, only the hedgehogs were depressed. #Mushrooms #FungiFirst
November 23, 2025 at 12:20 AM
When I went to the woods today, I did not expect to find so many depressed hedgehogs (Hydnum umbilicatum). Needless to say, only the hedgehogs were depressed. #Mushrooms #FungiFirst
Spotted some lovely looking Stinking Orange Oysters (Phyllotopsis nidulans)! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
November 17, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Spotted some lovely looking Stinking Orange Oysters (Phyllotopsis nidulans)! #Mushrooms #FungiFriends
Reposted by Fungi First
Now through Nov. 1: Rise of the Zombie Bugs is on sale at @hopkinspress.bsky.social. Get 100% more zombies for 30% off!
Check out an excerpt: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/zom...
And because I'm on my third cup of coffee and am avoiding my to-do list ...
1 like = 1 zombie fact 🧟♀️
Check out an excerpt: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/zom...
And because I'm on my third cup of coffee and am avoiding my to-do list ...
1 like = 1 zombie fact 🧟♀️
No tricks - just treats! 🎃 Use code HGHOST25 to save 30% on select ghoulishly good books, like "Rise of the Zombie Bugs" by Mindy Weisberger, "The Secret History of the Jersey Devil," and more now through 11/1.
https://ow.ly/FmX950XhPp3
https://ow.ly/FmX950XhPp3
October 29, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Now through Nov. 1: Rise of the Zombie Bugs is on sale at @hopkinspress.bsky.social. Get 100% more zombies for 30% off!
Check out an excerpt: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/zom...
And because I'm on my third cup of coffee and am avoiding my to-do list ...
1 like = 1 zombie fact 🧟♀️
Check out an excerpt: www.sciencefriday.com/articles/zom...
And because I'm on my third cup of coffee and am avoiding my to-do list ...
1 like = 1 zombie fact 🧟♀️
Reposted by Fungi First
Get to know us!
Brian is a PhD insect pathologist investigating the biology and evolution of entomopathogenic fungi, formerly with USDA-ARS.
He's a science communicator, data whiz, and excellent teller of dad jokes.
Be like Brian, join the fight for science here 👉zurl.co/FeGmD
Brian is a PhD insect pathologist investigating the biology and evolution of entomopathogenic fungi, formerly with USDA-ARS.
He's a science communicator, data whiz, and excellent teller of dad jokes.
Be like Brian, join the fight for science here 👉zurl.co/FeGmD
October 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Get to know us!
Brian is a PhD insect pathologist investigating the biology and evolution of entomopathogenic fungi, formerly with USDA-ARS.
He's a science communicator, data whiz, and excellent teller of dad jokes.
Be like Brian, join the fight for science here 👉zurl.co/FeGmD
Brian is a PhD insect pathologist investigating the biology and evolution of entomopathogenic fungi, formerly with USDA-ARS.
He's a science communicator, data whiz, and excellent teller of dad jokes.
Be like Brian, join the fight for science here 👉zurl.co/FeGmD
Reposted by Fungi First
Keep your jack-o’-lantern looking fresh until #Halloween!
Some tips:
🎃 Choose one without dents or soft spots
🧽 Wipe clean with bleach before carving
🔪 Don’t over-thin the walls
☂️ Keep dry and under cover if you can
💧 Rub petroleum jelly on carved edges to seal it
Some tips:
🎃 Choose one without dents or soft spots
🧽 Wipe clean with bleach before carving
🔪 Don’t over-thin the walls
☂️ Keep dry and under cover if you can
💧 Rub petroleum jelly on carved edges to seal it
How to keep your jack-o’-lantern from turning into moldy, maggoty mush before Halloween
Don’t let microbes and insects turn your Halloween masterpiece into a horror show before the big night.
buff.ly
October 16, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Keep your jack-o’-lantern looking fresh until #Halloween!
Some tips:
🎃 Choose one without dents or soft spots
🧽 Wipe clean with bleach before carving
🔪 Don’t over-thin the walls
☂️ Keep dry and under cover if you can
💧 Rub petroleum jelly on carved edges to seal it
Some tips:
🎃 Choose one without dents or soft spots
🧽 Wipe clean with bleach before carving
🔪 Don’t over-thin the walls
☂️ Keep dry and under cover if you can
💧 Rub petroleum jelly on carved edges to seal it
Why grow flowers when you can easily cultivate rosette-like fungal
cultures of Linnemannia sp. from our everyday environment! #FungiFriends
cultures of Linnemannia sp. from our everyday environment! #FungiFriends
October 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Why grow flowers when you can easily cultivate rosette-like fungal
cultures of Linnemannia sp. from our everyday environment! #FungiFriends
cultures of Linnemannia sp. from our everyday environment! #FungiFriends
In anticipation of Super Mario Bros' 40th anniversary, we present to you...
the REAL mushroom behind the man!
www.popsci.com/science/real...
the REAL mushroom behind the man!
www.popsci.com/science/real...
Mario's super-sized mushroom exists in real life
While they actually power-up trees and not plumbers, the 40 year-old video game helped make toadstools mainstream.
www.popsci.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:49 PM
