On July 22 I collected pieces of a large upcurled mushroom with a dark flesh or not-quite-maroon top surface and pale gills. This fungal fruiting body was apparently a popular species loaded with various adult and larval inhabitants, including some Trit*oma humeral*is larvae and a raft of golden aleocharine roves that I intended to photograph later. I placed these scraps atop a moist layer of leaf-mold in an open leftover container, having learned the lesson of enclosing mushrooms and killing off their inhabitants from the lethal outgassing of the fungi. I had another lesson to learn however.

When I eventually sought some of the little roves in the mushroom pieces there were none to be found. They had flown, and a day or so later I found the mushroom scraps swarming with their offspring. Mushroom beetles of necessity have a very rapid maturation. These larvae had no doubt been eggs when I collected them. They had hatched, eaten voraciously, and become a horde of half-grown, black-tailed larvae in probably no more than 36 hours.

I later found that the adults are excellent fliers. They are able to fly straight up out of a container and can hover like a gnat. No wonder they escaped my open leftover container.