Tree Bark

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Does anyone else enjoy examining tree trunks for various fungi, insects, tree frogs, ect. just to see what you can find - not looking for any particular species, just curiousity and wonder about what tiny, often camouflaged lifeforms you'll discover hidden amongst the tree bark?

 

[TBRS1]

I've seen an oak tree with hundreds of tiny (1/2 inch) mushrooms growing from the bark, up to about 2 feet above ground.

If a person is looking for tardigrades (water bears), the place e to look is in the moss at the base of a mossy tree.

I love finding salamanders hiding in rotten logs. Red backed salamanders are common here. They look like this (not my photo):



Colorful salamanders are common here, but the they are masters of concealment so one has to know where to look.

 

[Mary Terry]

I like to watch the ant trails up tree trunks. For years, I had a major problem with ants attacking the hummingbird feeders. Finally, I started hanging the feeders on the ends of 40-foot-long branches that come out of the pecan trees about 40+ feet up the trunk. The ants haven't figured out how to climb up the tree trunks and go down the branches to get to the sugar. YAY! Problem solved.