From: frankferg@aol.com
Date: 2008-12-21 17:33:52
Thank you Andrew for this food for thought. —–Original Message—– From: Andrew Johnson 
It turned out that an exterminator had spilled some insecticide and had used the silacious gel from his spill kit to contain it. Rather than report the spill and face a fine, he vacuumed it up in the machine. Too bad though, he lost his license because there were video cameras on the property. Its really an amazing substance. A quart size jar can absorb a huge amount of liquid depending on its density. By itself its non-toxic… but, if you get it wet and there are nutrients in the liquid, it gets moldy and you gotta pitch it. jim it is the larval form of wire coat hangers. Check your wardrobe. Scott Shanks Frog or Toad ovaries coughed up by a heron. Called Stardrops in some places. They herons need to regurgitate them before they swell up like the eggs do after they’ve been laid. Ken Parnham Please see the attached photos taken on 24 Feb 2007 on Hill of Alyth,Perthshire (grid ref NO 238 502).The pond, at around 280m elevation, has a man-made drainage channel onthe south side up which frogs migrate in the spring to spawn, typicallylate Feb and through Mar. Coincident with the frogs and the associatedfrog spawn, Herons appear around the edge of the pond – though as I’musually walking a dog the Herons tend to disperse as we approach – up t ofour seen at any one time.The photos show the most concentrated jellied spot – a small hummockbeside the pond. You will notice that amongst the jelly is frog-spawn.When only mildly disturbed, the Herons retreat away from the pondwithout taking serious flight. I have observed small clumps of jelly inthe surrounding area.Hypothesis: The Herons eat frog-spawn, gastric juices (acid?) extractthe premature tadpole (as protein?) and the indigestible part isregurgitated as opaque jelly (Gastric juices turning the clear ‘spawn’to opaque?).Perhaps Herons in flight can regurgitate jelly which would explain awider distribution. Whilst mammals may eat frog-spawn, there would need to be plenty offoxes, deer etc to deposit so much jelly over the area. Odd foxes anddeer are seen occasionally in transit over the hill from farm-land tofarm-land. Up to four Herons 24/7 for six weeks or so seems more likely, especiallywith wading legs!I will have to pay more attention next spring! Helen Taylor Nostoc commune Hope this is useful in your search for the answer.The genus Nostoc contains Blue-green algae which are composed of colonies of Cyanobacteria arranged in strings or filaments called trichomes which are surrounded by a thin sheath. They can be found in water and on land and are able to withstand extreme environments such as the freezing Arctic or the hot pools near an active volcano. They also have the ability to lie dormant for long periods when conditions are unfavourable and20come back to life when rehydrated.The Cyanobacteria can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and are able to use energy from the sun, but not using the same pigments as the photosynthesis carried out by the chloroplasts in plant cells. Their photosynthesizing pigments are free in the cytoplasm and not contained within an organelle such as a chloroplast. Geologocal studies have found that oxygen-producing cyanobacteria were present about 2.8 billion years ago and are probably responsible for the creation of the life-supporting atmosphere of the Earth. The chloroplasts in plants and similar organelles in algae, have evolved from Cyanobacteria and became enveloped in the cells at some point in their evolutionary history. Some of the pigments they contain can absorb UV-A/B which help them to survive in exposed locations. Submitted by Helen Taylor. Identified by Rosemary Smith. Jay Hurst I observed precisely the same stuff in 1984. Early summer, about twenty five to thirty feet from a local pond, one large blob a foot and a half across lying atop of undisturbed grass. I remember my fascination, and looked for a trail leading to it but without success. An aerial origin seemed likely but it had a slightly broken texture as in the photo, if it had fallen from anything more than a few feet it would have been splattered all over.The pond was a small patch of mossy woodland between new housing estates and a wartime munitions dump. Later that summer I found a20decomposing fox nearby, but the jelly looked too large to have been passed by anything smaller than a cow and you can rule them out, the nearest farms were a good few miles away through housing estates, industrial facilities and the UKAEA in Risley. Mr MacDonald It comes from slugs… Gina Grunskis This jelly has been seen, in the past, at a redundant slate quarry, now overgrown, in Spittal,Caithness. There are ponds where frogs/toads breed and the area is rich in wildlife, but especially rabbits. Sylvia How can stags get their semen on top of a pole?!?! The most common thing I find in a lot of posts is that it has to do with Heron being in the area so it leads me to conclude that it must be some sort of excretion from a heron….as to what it is I am unsure of… hankomatic Cloud Seeding to Extract Moisture.. Wandering Hugh It’s manna from heaven? Ian Russell I found some below the gable end of our farm near Eaglesham. Owls sometimes perch there so the jelly may have been regurgitated by them. Dave Stevens We fou nd some of this space snot in the middle our 10th fairway on Pitlochry Golf Course. The only difference from your photo is that there are clumps of small black spheres looking like caviar dotted around amongst it. Henry B Nostoc pruniforme Uni Ive seen it, I thought a seagull threw a jellyfish into my backyard! Bob Joe Remember that old movie “The Blob” Be carefull out there! John in Victoria BC Canada Looks like 555 drill polymer used in diamond drilling. Goes from crystalline form to gelatinous mass to slime dependent on addition of water. Rendered from seaweed, nontoxic and used as thickening agent for drilling fluids when drilling through fractured rock. Also used as a thickening agent for foods. Dotty Hearn In August 1994 a gelatinous rainfall ocurred in Oakville Washington (USA) The fallout of this material took place over a three week period of time. Google it. sparkey heron is plausible could be remnants of eels denfence mechanism nappy stuff looks exactly like it too Keith Jordan of Indiana U.S.A. This substance looks like the mo siture asorbing stuff that airlines use (silaca) when saturatedlooks like simi transparent goo. also used in motor homes under the lavitori basin to absorb humidity. sheepshearer48 I saw something like this years ago in a woods in South Carolina. It was clinging to tree branches and there was a big pile on the ground. It looked like it fell from above the ground. I didnt go too close, but saw it from a jogging path that I used. It dryed up and disappeared over a few weeks. cheryl rogers the stuff on snails.its really slimey you have to scrape it off it could be alot of snail slime. the laz Will you please send me a bucket of the stuff as I have run out of wallpaper paste. Fresno Bob I think the pictures attached to this article are showing two different things. I have no idea what the very liquidy (is that a word?) stuff is but it seems right that it has to do with frogs as that stuff is in or near water in the photos. The other stuff that is almost dry and kinda granulated is more like the stuff 2 other posters spoke about in the diapers (nappies to y’all). They sell it for agricultural uses to retain water in dry areas and as a coagulant of water in areas that have high mosquito populations or mold=2 0problems. Often, dry insecticide is mixed with the powder before it contacts the water and becomes the ooze. For some good images of this, Google “water absorbing polymer crystals” and see if this isn’t what this substance is. We use it a lot here in California as the soil is sandy in the valley and into Southern California. Also, what kinda dear do you have over there? They must be giants if you think that is semen! melissa mardell a friend and i found this on exemoor too the other day and we thought it was alien slime it had white veins which would suggest its living?? yes/no?? willg et her upload pics. bert simms It was probably dropped from a UFO to breed with local pond denizens. Thomas Covenant It looks remarkably like the alien “seeds” in”Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.( 1978 version)Remember the character played by Leonard Nimoy-who was so devoid of emotion that no one noticed when he was changed? Anyone around you been acting a little strange, lately? MARIA – NY I vote for outter space. No way these are local…..lololol J Purdy It’s gel from a diaper (that’s what we call nappies in the States). Either that or it’s the same material. Is20this area in a flight path? It’s not that I’m necessarily suggesting airliner are flushing diapers out onto the country-side, but the toilets may contain this material. My employer has insatlled “green” dry urinals in the men’s room that have a reservoir (for the you know) which contains a nappy gel/disinfectant slurry in lieu of flushing the urinal. In the evening the poor housekeeping staff have to empty the container. Oh joy! Perhaps the airlines have a similar setup for their bathrooms and have a procedure that calls for dumping the material over lesser populated areas. Ted Fleming I ran across a gob of this stuff some years ago, in Kansas (very central USA). Right in the middle of town, at the bottom of a telephone pole on a street corner, right after a big storm. The ‘piece’ I found was about the size of a canteloupe or a rugby ball, so if it was heron vomit, that was a BIG heron- an anomaly worth investigating in and of itself! Also, because of where I found it, it’s not at all likely that it was deer vomit/spooge/ whatever, and almost equally unlikely to have been the product of an amphibian. Very strange! Brant Grembner It might be snot from an animal with a cold. Perhaps it’s what you get when a dear blows its nose. quantum+ I use to have Top Secret clearance with USAF.=2 0Ask NASA about this jelly and “dead satellites” that fall from space. They’ll probably deny any knowledge of it’s existance. The Cusp WHatever that stuff is, it tastes really good on toast! Sandy Edwards It was known to me when I lived in Devon as “Heron Sick”. It is the regurgitated oviduct contents from frogs which have been eaten by birds. This swells up in the gut of the bird and makes it throw up! Paul Bryozoans Russ I found the same substance in the fields ast the side of the A80 in Cumbernauld, on top of fence posts which a Buzzard was using as a perch. So definatly a bird of prey connection Trish MacDonnell I live on one of the Orkney Isles and found this gel on my woodpile which has been undisturbed for the past year. We also have no foxes or deer here so can discount those. It`s cold and slimy to touch. And burns with a hissing, popping sound (yes, I burned the wood….) Craig Dalrymple I found this stuff on the bonnet of my 4×4 in early Summer. The car sits under a tree. I’ve also seen the stuff underneath the tree. I’ve also seen it in my back garden which i s not accessible for anything lick a cat or a dog. It just seems to appear overnight. I live right beside the Clyde so I’d guess it came from a bird/seagull. peter rabbit latex condoms degrading? Al It’s part of the plot for a new series of Dr. Who to be shown next year. Gill Avila It’s obviously the “Primal Jelly” so often referenced by Arthur Machen and H.P. Lovecraft in their tales. Steve Dickson It’s not just Scotland. I often see huge clumps of this around the ponds of North Vancouver, BC, Canada. I always thought it was “Salamander Spawn”. Obviously not. Christel Honestly! Fairies with the flu, obviously. Neil Mahler I think the young lady who went to all the trouble of learning about slime mould from the internet has got it wrong, and I’m not at all convinced with the ‘rock snot’ theory either as no site I clicked on has photos resembling the photos shown here.The most sensible theory seems to be Stag semen, but we have already read previously that this ‘gunge’ has been found in gardens where deer would not be present, also in my county in the East, we have large populations o f red deer, but no reports of this substance being found at all.Another point, if stag semen is anything like human semen, it will just turn watery after a few minutes of exposure, what we have here is coagulated/ jelly like.So keep the suggestions coming in people !!. Janet Reid It looks similar to the jelly used in disposable nappies, which I presume is a form of silicon Barry Ingram I think it comes from lack of underwear when wearing kilts! Suzanne Alien invasion! bill and ben is this jelly strawberry flavour? Martin Alexander Anyone who has seen the “Alien” movies would be forgiven for drawing a comparison with the goo emanating from the creature. Could this slime be coming from something we are not familar with? Andy Bateman Try some time lapse photography on these lumps of slime. You may be in for a surprise! If my memory serves me right they are called slime moulds but have nothing to do with fungi other than they seem only to be studied by mycologists. They are in fact macro ameoba and they move! Or has my mind completely failed me? yankee I heard about something similar to this being found here stateside years ago. It was attributed to aircraft deliberately spraying chemicals and infection agents on population centers, the “slime” is the result of non-optimal spraying, it clumps up rather than atomises as the sprayers would like it to.Supposedly, testing found all sorts of biological agents in it, to include human blood cells. Then again, it was also said to be able to etch glass. Just some stuff I heard. Ben R Indeed this mystery jelly is nothing more exciting than the remnants of stags and various other mammals doing what they have done for millennium in Autumn – mating and producing large amounts of semen. Gordon Robertson I have seen this jelly on the hills for many years and I was told as Andy Malcolm said it had something to do with the stags. Penny Jackson I’ve seen it in my back garden in Derby. We have a pond and I always assumed it was where a cat had eaten a pregnant frog and discarded the undeveloped spawn, like what Steve Chambers said. Tanya Starkey I have found the same jelly substance in my drive way. I live near the Ochils but my house is in the middle of a housing estate. Charlie Leppard Deer phlegm Leslie UFO material! Maybe it breaks-down in cold weather? Dougie Gold It looks like the gell from inside a nappy. Our dog stole a full nappy shredded it in the garden and eat the contents. Next day all that was left was the gell from inside that had absorbed the overnight rain, it looked exactly like the gell in the pictures. Judie Holliday How interesting. We just had this conversation with our daughters after finding multiple patches of this jelly on the side of Saddle Hill near Culloden in the Highlands. I’d love to know what it is. Gareth Jones I think it’s the start of the entire world turning into ‘grey goo’ because of nanotechnology! C RObb I think its the gel crytals used in gardening , somehow ending up in guts of various animals.There is evidence here alone that birds eating it are the likely culprit , which they then excrete.This might not be the case in all the pics , but only in some. Bill Baxter This substance has been appearing regularly in the far North (Caithness and Sutherland) for many years. Mainly noticed in the summer by my friends and myself when fishing or walking, it has always baffled us. We are all the outdoor type and familiar with almost anything connected with natural occurences. We would love to have an answer to the mystery. Karl Teviotdale I have found this substance before myself. Often close to ice cream….I believe it to be ectoplasmic slime which is the residue left by ghosts. Christine Forsyth I think the haggis theory is the best that I have come across – it has certainly cheered me up after being ill all week! Brian Clark I found a whole load of this slime on grass near my home in Erskine Renfrewshire. I thought someone had emptied a bucket of wallpaper paste. Strange! Mary Clarkson This jelly looks like slime mold. see wikipedia: Most slime mold are smaller than a few centimetres, but the very largest reach areas of up to thirty square metres, making them the largest undivided cells known. Many have striking colours such as yellow, brown and white. Slime Mold is a broad term that refers to fungi-like amoeboid (i.e. like an amoeba) organisms. Their common name refers to part of their life cycle in which their appearance can be gelatinous (hence the name slime). However, this fact mostly refers to the myxomycetes, which are the only macroscopic slime molds. They have been found all over the world feeding on microorganisms that live in any type of dead plant material. For this reason, it is very common to find these organisms growing in the soil, on lawns, and in the forest commonly on deciduous logs (hence the name molds). However, in tropical areas of the world, they also seem to be very common on inflorescences, fruits and in aerial situations (i.e. in the canopy of trees). They are also common on mulch or even in the leaf mold in gutters. Roddy and Sheila I was intrigued to catch the tail end of Sat. mornings programme , and that your quest to identify the ‘ slime’ goes on !Many years ago I found a similar substance and was initially stumped as to what it might be . Our property backs onto a hillside with mixed moorland and forestry . We have resident buzzards , hawks , crows etc. We found this frogspawn like material , but usually on top of fence posts ? I know about Slime Fungi and discounted that .None of our natural history friends could explain it.Much later , and I cant remember where we read or heard about it , we found that it ‘might be’ that birds eating frogs or toads , regurgitate the lining of the stomach of these creatures , as it is toxic to them . This seemed a possibility as it is so ‘frog like’ !!It appears to be an Autumn phenomina , and coincidently , have heard two local friends descri bing this recently .The fact that we find it on top of posts or rocky outcrops confirms the possibility of birds taking it to an eating place .We have accepted this explanation since ! We certainly have lots of frogs/toads nearby , and an early spring sight is Herons flying in to feast on these. Will listen in with interest. Elizabeth Hall Sorry to jump in and ruin your moment of imaginative discussions but this jelly substance has appeared in our back garden. We live in the West midlands, on a housing estate our Garden is fenced off, so no Stags or Lynx good get in! and we don’t have a pond, I have seen no herons. Could anyone explain what this is? Susanna Robson There has been quite a lot of the jelly on our croft in the north west of Skye, including on top of a fence post, so that would be some stag! I had assumed it was something the crows or other birds were spewing out. Diana Carmody I too saw these in Aberfoyle just last week. Curious I followed this article and searched the web for others, there were many. The best explanation I came across was this from October 2007 and surely posted by a very knowledgeable Scots person: “The organism is the pupa of a haggis. Your correspondent is very fortunate: haggis normally pupate only under cover of dense heather or bracken, an d pupation usually happens at the onset of the Scottish winter in early September. In due course the outer skin becomes opaque, and the inner tissues become firm and granular as water is lost. It is at this point that pupating haggis are collected for human consumption. Those that elude would-be gourmets remain in a dormant state until spring, emerging as fully developed adults or “imagos”, ready to seek a mate and ensure the continued supply of this delicacy”. Good one. Garry Findlay I have also found this cloudy jelly material in a newly cut silage field and on a fire road near Strathaven. Some of it had small black looking ‘eggs’ on the ground in amongst it. This was about 6 weeks ago. It wouldn’t be frog or toad spawn at this time of year? I have seen Heron and Deer at both these spots recently. Elizabeth Roberts The surest way to test these various theories is to analyse a specimen – is that what has been done in deciding that these jelly masses are made up of ‘single celled organisms’? judy broderick Found this in Glen Tilt two weeks ago; certainly there were hinds around. Can you repeat the info. about it travelling and climbing trees please! judy broderick Found several balls of this two weeks ago in Glen Tilt ; there certainly were hinds and their calves around. Where can I find the remarks about it travelling distances a Elizabeth Roberts I found a mass of the white jelly (it looked exactly like the photograph featured on this page) the day before yesterday. It was mainly on the wooden decking, but part was on/dripping off the top of the big black plastic pot standing in the corner of the deck. the deck is a good 3 metres above ground, reached by steps but at the time it must have been deposited the step access to the deck was barred by a wooden gate designed to confine my daughter’s pet Cairn dog or my grandchildren to the deck area directly outside the living room. From the placing of this white jelly I think it is highly unlikely to be stag sperm or otter anus blocker (Tom’s suggestion)- it seemed to me only possible to have been dropped from the air. My property is a commercial forestry plantation aret 300m in the southern uplands near the Daer Reservoir, and there are drains (water channels) and burns but not all that near to the house. We do have otters, badgers and deer but the gamekeeper who called yesterday and saw the jelly (and recognised it as something he has seen frequently in his territory at this time of year) thought it was ‘fox vomit’ – again highly unlikely given the position of the jelly so near the house and right behind a flower pot in the corner of a deck constricted by the railing. < /div> Paukine Gibb i believe its the misterons Drew Dougans During autumn, I have occasionally seen tennis ball sized lumps of this jelly beneath trees on damp grass along quiet single track roads near Strathaven. The most recent lump I noticed was about two weeks ago and it lay on the same spot, undisturbed, for several days. There are certainly badgers, foxes and deer in the area and, indeed, I have heard it referred to as “Deer Spit” Morna Ormiston I saw the same jelly the other day near a pond on the Braid Hills. I have seen it there in previous years and assumed it was something to do with frog or newt spawn although this seems a strange time of year for spawning?? Surely some nature loving dude out there can give us the definitive answer. Lewis Napier from Hamilton I fund this stuff twice last week on 2 seperate golf courses in lanarkshire, and south lanarkshire. Idid ask if anyone new what it was but they had no idea. Bill Scott This substance has been the the subject of discussion between my Sunday morning fourball at Ranfurly castle Golf Club for the past year or two as we have come across it in varying quantities all over the course. Most recently we=2 0came across some last week. We do not recall seeing any frogs or toads in the area but do have some deer and there is a Heron which is seen infrequently. There have also been sightings of a large black Lynx like cat in the area in recent years. Douglas Robertson I found some ‘jelly-like’ substance on the hillside in Glenshee today(25.10. 06.)I took some home and if you know anyone who may want to analyse this substance andy malcolm I dont want to upset all these people who have been poking around with your “mystery jelly”, but it’s stags semen! As a professional stalker (I was on your programme a week ago) I come across it all over the place at this time of year. Andy Wilson It could be vital to check if this jelly is the same as “Didymosphenia geminata, commonly known as didymo or rock snot” – see Google. Rock snot is a huge problem in New Zealand where it has got on riverbeds and devours all food. We visited South Island in 2007 and there was great concern – they believed it was spread on canoes, fishing equipment, etc. At that time, there was no known treatment to kill it. Imagine if it got into Scottish streams – although it may well be in already?Your programme could push for a proper investigation and follow-up eradication. Rock snot is not just a quirky phenomenom w ith a crude name – it is a disaster.I saw a golfball-size white specimen on Ben Hope on 19 Oct 08 but didn’t know what it was.Thanks for the great programmes. #ygrps-yiv-928969621 #ygrps-yiv-928969621AOLMsgPart_2_eceab244-6dd6-42ff-9005-33783f7f59de #ygrps-yiv-928969621ygrp-mkp{border:1px solid #d8d8d8;font-family:Arial;margin:14px 0px;padding:0px 14px;}#ygrps-yiv-928969621 #ygrps-yiv-928969621AOLMsgPart_2_eceab244-6dd6-42ff-9005-33783f7f59de #ygrps-yiv-928969621ygrp-mkp hr{border:1px solid #d8d8d8;}#ygrps-yiv-928969621 #ygrps-yiv-928969621AOLMsgPart_2_eceab244-6dd6-42ff-9005-33783f7f59de #ygrps-yiv-928969621ygrp-mkp #ygrps-yiv-928969621hd{color:#628c2a;font-size:85%;font-weight:bold;line-height:122%;margin:10px 0px;}#ygrps-yiv-928969621 #ygrps-yiv-928969621AOLMsgPart_2_eceab244-6dd6-42ff-9005-33783f7f59de #ygrps-yiv-928969621ygrp-mkp #ygrps-yiv-928969621ads{margin-bottom:10px;}#ygrps-yiv-928969621
