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The shimmering dung beetle (crumbling), the Latin name Coprinellus micaceus belongs to the family Psatirellaceae, genus Coprinellus (Coprinellus, Dung). Previously, the species was classified as a separate group - Dung-carnivores. In Russia, its rare name is mica dung beetle. The species is classified as saprotrophs - fungi that decompose wood. Its first description was presented in the first half of the 19th century.
Where does the flickering dung beetle grow?
The species grows in the northern and temperate climate zone.The mycelium spreads on the remains of old wood from early spring until late autumn, before the onset of the first frost. Early small specimens appear in early May. The period of active fruiting occurs in June-July. The species is found in forests, parks, and in courtyards of houses on the trunks of dead deciduous trees. You can find it in rural areas and in urban areas on garbage and compost heaps. The fungus grows everywhere in a moist and nutritious environment. It does not live on the stumps of coniferous trees or in forests. The flickering dung beetle is found in large crowded groups, families.
What does the flickering dung beetle look like?
This is a small mushroom, its length does not exceed 4 cm. The cap is bell-shaped, with downward pubescent edges. Young specimens have an ovoid cap. Its diameter and height do not exceed 3 cm. The color of the skin is dirty yellow or brown, more intense in the center than along the edge. The surface of the cap is covered with small shiny scales, which are easily washed off by precipitation. The edges of the cap are more ribbed than the center and can be smooth or torn.
The pulp of the shimmering dung beetle is thin, tender, fragile, fibrous, does not have a pronounced mushroom smell, and has a sour taste. In young mushrooms it is white, in old ones it is dirty yellow.
The leg is thin (no more than 2 cm in diameter), cylindrical in shape, can expand towards the bottom, and is hollow inside. Its length does not exceed 6-7 cm. The color is bright white, yellow at the base. Its surface is loose, velvety, there is no ring. The flesh of the leg is fragile and crumbles easily.
The plates of the young shimmering mushroom are white, cream, or light brown, frequent, adherent, quickly decompose, and turn green. In damp weather they blur and turn black.
The spore powder of the fungus is dark gray or black. The spores are flat and smooth.
Is it possible to eat dung beetle?
This species resembles a toadstool, so mushroom pickers prefer to avoid it. The dung beetle is conditionally edible, but this applies only to young specimens; their plates and legs are still white. It is consumed as food after heat treatment (at least 20 minutes). The first mushroom broth must be drained. The mushroom should be cooked within an hour after collection; after a longer time, it darkens, spoils, and can cause digestive upset.
The pulp of the shimmering dung beetle does not have a pronounced taste or smell. When combined with alcohol, it acquires an unpleasant bitter taste and can cause food poisoning. The first symptoms of intoxication are tachycardia, speech impairment, increased body temperature, and decreased vision clarity. When cooking, do not mix with other types of mushrooms.
The dung beetle, like other representatives of the genus, contains the substance coprine, which blocks the absorption of alcohol by the human body. In folk medicine, dung beetle is used to treat alcoholism. After eating this type of food, you should not drink alcohol-containing substances for another 48 hours - the possibility of poisoning still remains.
Similar species
Many mushrooms of the dung beetle genus are similar to each other. All of them are conditionally edible. The flickering dung beetle looks like a toadstool and an edible honey fungus at the same time. Only an experienced mushroom picker can distinguish between these edible and inedible species.
Domestic dung beetle (Coprinellus domesticus)
This is a larger and lighter mushroom than the shimmering dung beetle. Its cap in diameter and stem in length can exceed 5 cm. The surface of the cap is covered not with shimmering plates, but with velvety, white or creamy skin. The fungus is also a saprotroph, a parasitic species on old trees. It prefers to grow on aspen or birch stumps and on wooden buildings. In the wild, the dung beetle is rare, which is why it got its name.
The plates are also subject to autolysis - decomposition in a humid environment. In young mushrooms they are white, but over time they darken and turn into an inky mass.
The domestic dung beetle is classified as an inedible species. Unlike the flickering dung beetle, the domestic dung beetle grows solitarily or in small groups.
Willow dung beetle (Coprinellus truncorum)
This is an edible representative of the Psatirelaceae family. Its other name is willow ink mushroom. In appearance it is similar to the flickering dung beetle. It is distinguished by a longer and thinner off-white stem. The surface of the young mushroom is covered with a white, loose coating, which is easily washed off by rain. The cap of a mature willow dung beetle is smooth, creamy, and has no roughness or shiny particles. Older representatives of the species have wrinkled and ribbed skin. The center of the cap is brown, and the edges have a whitish stripe.
The pulp is thin, white, translucent, through which the plates can be seen, which is why the mushroom appears wrinkled.
Willow dung beetle grows in large families in well-fertilized meadows, fields, pastures, and garbage heaps. It requires a moist nutrient medium.
Willow dung beetle, like dung beetle, is consumed only when young, while the blades are still white. Mushroom pickers do not like it because of its rapid decomposition process; in just an hour, a strong yellow specimen can turn into a black jelly-like mass.
False honey agaric
The mushroom can be mistaken for flickering dung beetle. This species also grows on wood debris everywhere. False honey mushrooms have a thin white, hollow stem.
The cap of the false honey fungus is yellow or light brown, but unlike the dung beetle, it is smooth and slippery. False honey fungus exudes an unpleasant odor of dampness or mold. The plates on the back of the cap are olive or green. False honey fungus is an inedible (poisonous) mushroom. The poisonous representative of the species begins to bear fruit at the end of summer, while the shimmering dung beetle germinates already in early May.
Conclusion
The flickering dung beetle is a mushroom that is found everywhere throughout almost the entire territory of Eastern Europe and Russia. It is considered a conditionally edible species, since the period of consumption is very short. Inexperienced mushroom pickers may confuse it with edible mushrooms. When interacting with alcohol, the mushroom becomes poisonous. Older types can also cause digestive upset. Inexperienced mushroom pickers are better off refusing to collect.
