Toadstools in the woods

Toadstools in the woods
How nature attracts us
On a recent walk in Formby woods, looking for red squirrels we spotted these fly agaric, they are such a Bright deep red, contrasting with the deep browns and moss greens of the forest floor, they are almost shouting, I’m over here, come and look at me.
Red is a powerful colour, which can act as a signal or attractor, it is emotive of both love and rage Nature uses colours, shapes and smells and even lights to draw in or warn off, using different methods for different species, in the case of the fly agaric it is the brightest red and has a smell which attracts insects to it, the toadstool gets its name from the old tradition of placing a piece of its flesh in a glass of milk, the smell would attract flies, who would then come to a dizzying end after consuming its poisons before headbutting into the nearest object.
The animal kingdom uses many other tricks to draw in its prey or to attract a mate, from Luminous algae to Fireflies. So that it is little surprise to find that the human species can also be affected by these things, when we give an ahh of wonder at insects lighting up in the forest, or are enchanted by the discovery of the phosphorescence of a cave, we are just responding in the way that nature intended.
The trick is to find which of these elements can be used to highlight an issue, to bring our attention to a subject, to hold people’s attention for long enough that a connection might be made and hopefully in the same way that finding a brightly coloured toadstool in the woods will be remembered.




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