Eye on Nature

At the Raven's Point entrance to Curracloe Beach, in Co Wexford, on a grassy, sandy area there were thousands of ladybirds.
Isabelle Cartwright
Carlow

They were gathering to look at a suitable place to hibernate or to migrate.

I dug up two round, white fungus in my suburban garden. Are they truffles?
Dermod O'Donovan
Shankill, Co Dublin

From the vertical cross section in your photograph, the very poisonous, green, embryonic death cap, Amanita phalloides, was visible.

My dozens of sparrows have deserted me. There are only five or six left, and they are not eating the fat balls or seeds I leave out.
Alice O'Shaughnessy
Parteen, Co Clare

The flocks of young sparrows have dispersed and only the resident few remain.

Ian Elliott and Charlie Crowley have explained that the reason we cannot see the colour spectrum in a moonbow is that at low light intensity our eyes see only in black and white. A long-exposure or time-lapse photograph will show the full range of colour.

Michael Viney welcomes observations at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address