Hunters but not animals!

When we think of hunters we think of animals. Many animals including humans, hunt. They go out of home, lie in wait, chase their prey animals, kill them and devour or may bring back home the prize for young ones to feed on. Humans may hunt just for adventure or to display their bravery and skill. In and around our homes too, we see - lizards, praying mantis, sparrows, cats etc. hunting to feed.

There are living things which are neither animals nor plants but some of them can hunt. They form a whole big, fascianting kingdom - of Fungi. The fungi have no chlorophyll and therefore, can not synthesize their own food. Many of them have long hairlike filaments called hyphae. Some of the hyphae enter dead or live plant and animal parts and get food from such sourses. If from dead organisms the fungi can be regarded as saprophytes or saprozoic and creeping into live bodies you may regard them as pathogens or parasites.

Most fungi are small in size. Many are icroscopic. Some like mushrooms can be seen easily. Some fungi are unbelievably large. The filamentous body of a sub-soil fungus hidden from view can be enormously large. Using modern molecular techniques fungal clone of Armillaria ostoyae, has been estimated to occupy over some 1500 acres in Oregon's Malheur National Forest. It is possible that probably mycelia of such organisms have broken into fragments, in last sveral centuries of their growth. But still such large sizes make us rethink about definition of an individual.

Some one hundred fifty species of fungi living in the soil catch their own prey. They trap tiny nematode worms. They trap the worm in a loop and then strangle the victim with loop. Some fungi use an adhesive to which the nemaode sticks and then they can digest it.

See the fungal loop catching prey. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/...

There are companies which supply some fungi as the fungi can control population of harmful nematode population. These are non-toxic and selectively kill only the harmful nematodes. http://www.kpwhite.com/lawn_care.htm The fungal predators don't snarl, swoop, or gnash their teeth. The finesse of these killers is just not seen in the animal kingdom.

A news release in Apr, 2001 reports the white pine tree teams up with predator fungi like - Laccaria bicolor under the soil and through the fungal partner gets nitrogen of animal-origin.(Findings of botany professor John Klironomos & Miranda Hart). The fungus releases toxic chemicals to paralyzes the insect, infects them, grows its fungal filamentous body inside

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