Hymenial area of agaric fruit bodies consumed by Collembola

On the gill surfaces of agaric fruit bodies fed on by Collembola, the hymenium layer was consumed and many fecal pellets containing many basidiospores were observed. The hymenial area consumed by a collembolan (=Hypogatsrura denisana) varied from 1% to 92%, correlating with the density of collembolans on each fruit body among 11 agaric species. In Lactarius quietus, the hymenial area consumed by collembolans varied from 30% to 69% during the 5 days during which sampling took place. A weak correlation was found between the ratio of the hymenial area and the density of collembolans on the fruit bodies, and this fact suggested that other factors influenced the ratio of the hymenial area consumed by collembolans.