Ask MDC

Got a question for Ask MDC? Send it to AskMDC@mdc.mo.gov or call 573-522-4115, ext. 3848.

Q: I found this mold-looking thing growing on a wire spool. When I touched it, black dust came out. Is it mold?

This is chocolate tube slime mold (Stemonitis splendens).

Resembling extruded chocolate, this mold is found on rotting material where it finds food and nutrients on the forest floor. Specimens tend to grow in small, compact clusters on sheltered, decaying wood. Humid summer conditions encourage its growth. When triggered by the right — sometimes stressful — conditions, this mold forms the reproductive fruiting bodies seen in this photo. Extending up and out, these brown tubes will release spores into the air.

Q: Why are there so many spotted fawns this late in the season? Will they survive if their mothers are harvested during hunting season?

Deer breeding season in Missouri is very consistent from year to year, according to Wildlife Programs Supervisor Kevyn Wiskirchen, peaking each year in mid-November. Consequently, fawning dates are also consistent with a peak in late May and early June, though fawns are occasionally born earlier or later.

Fawns are typically weaned by 10 weeks (70 days) but can survive on their own by 45–60 days old, he explained.

“Most fawns are born by the second week of June, making them about 14 weeks old by the start of archery deer season,” he said. “That means fawns born a full month late would still be fully weaned by the start of deer season. Fawns born even later would likely still have a good chance of survival without their mother.”

Q: Can you help me identify this hawk?

This is a broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus). These hawks are stocky, with large heads and short tails. They often are seen migrating in large flocks.

Based on the orange leg feathers, the relatively few white feathers around the head and over the eye, and the full development of the white-and-black bands on the tail — a good field mark for this species — this bird is an adult. It also is a light morph; dark morphs have blackish plumage and are rare in Missouri.

Look for them the last week of April and the third week of September, when large flocks, or “kettles,” pass through the state. In the evenings, they settle as a group in forested areas to spend the night. The following morning, they lift off and begin to climb on warm, rising air currents called thermals. Up to 1,000 individuals have been observed in these kettles — a spectacular sight! For more information, visit short.mdc.mo.gov/4bS.