Carnival Candy Slime Mold (Arcyria denudata) Pictures

Wild Macro | Natural History Fine Art Photography by Timothy Boomer

Image Library > Slime Molds > Arcyriaceae >

Carnival Candy Slime Mold (Arcyria denudata)

Carnival candy slime mold or cotton candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata) is a worldwide myxomycete species whose striking red color makes for quite a conspicuous (and beautiful!) display. The fruiting bodies open and expand to release spores as they mature, resulting in a fluffy appearance which gives rise to the aforementioned common names. Whatever you call it, this species is always a sweet find!

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), timelapse (animated gif) showing how a single fruiting body developed over a period of ~45 hours. Each frame is a focus-stacked composite of many exposures taken at 5x magnification. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. The individual photos of each stage may be seen below. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0036-SLI0041

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 1 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0036

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 2 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0037

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 3 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0038

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 4 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0039

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 5 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0040

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata), part 6 of 6. Cultivated in a moist chamber and observed/photographed in a controlled setting. Focus-stacked composite at 5x magnification. Collected from Solano County, California, USA.
SLI0041

Carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria denudata). Focus-stacked composite. Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, California, USA.
SLI0001

Next slime mold: White carnival candy slime mold (Arcyria cinerea)

Interested in buying a print or licensing a picture? Click on the purchasing link for more information or contact us with any questions you may have. Thanks for looking!

Back To Top