(not) Insect Egg Slime Mould
I thought this was "Insect Egg Slime Mould". How cool, I thought, everyone will love it. They'll be intrigued enough to Google much better photos than mine (go on do it!).
But I consulted the iNaturalist and Facebook community to confirm my id (how cool is this citizen science craze?). The amazing Peter Zuidland and Victorian Fungi set me straight (check out his photos).
Not Insect Egg Slime Mould (Leocarpus fragilis), probably "Dog Vomit Slime Mould" (Mucilago sp.). Yuk. Who is going to want to read about that? Not the post I had planned.
But Slime Moulds are pretty interesting - not animals, plants or fungi, they're out there in their own Kingdom. They spend most of their time hiding in the soil. But when it rains, they clump together in a slimy mass. Wikipedia says up to 20kg!
After a few days, my slimy mass had dried out into a bit of grey flaky stuff. Show over.
First published 22 August 2020
Update 1 September 2020: Have a look at this story on Slime Moulds in northern Tasmania, which I guess is a much more hospitable environment for them to grow and be beautiful. https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/a-tiny-wonder/9557680
Even more beautiful is this website https://sarahlloydmyxos.wordpress.com/ Sarah is from northern Tasmania. As much as I love her photos, I don’t think I’ll be seeing a similar array in the northern Mallee.
Update August 2021 - The Slime Mould is back! I started noticing these weird clumps appearing again in July after the good winter rains - May (20mm), June (30mm) and July (42mm) !!