Monday 16 November 2020

A curious caterpillar in the moss

In The Netherlands there are many working groups that regularly make an inventory of the mosses present in nature. For this purpose, the natural landscape is divided into square sections of 1 x 1 km that are characterized by nationally determined coordinates. In such a section it is observed which kinds of mosses occur in it. Many mosses can be identified on the spot. Here, people often use a magnifying glass. Sometimes the determination has to be done at home with the help of a microscope. The results of such an inventory are centrally placed in the "NDFF Verspreidingsatlas" (distribution atlas): www.verspreidingsatlas.nl. This is a database that has been made possible by various nature organizations, with the aim of following the development of the mosses flora under the influence of the environment in the Netherlands.

During such an inventory, Flat-brocade moss or ‘Platygyrium repens’ was found. This moss is an epiphyte that grows on a wide range of deciduous trees. Especially Willows are favorite, but also on Ash, Alder and Oak the species can be found regularly. We find Flat-brocade moss especially in air-humid forests and bushes. In the field, Platygyrium looks like a dark green, small Hypnum or Plait-moss, but differs due to the typical breeding-branches at the end of the branches.

During the viewing of this moss under the Motic stereomicroscope, suddenly a curious caterpillar crept out, of which deed.


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