Animals as well as insects are a very important part of mushroom ecology. Black rove beetles, often found among the gills, hunt for the larvae of flies. Gnats and flies lay their eggs on mushrooms, and the larvae work their way into the fungus to devour it. Flea-like insects called springtails, live within the larval tunnels and the gills of mushrooms. They are in turn fed upon by centipedes.
Banana slugs move ever so slowly across the forest floor and feed on all types of plant material.
In spite of its huge appetite, the banana slug often leaves the fungus half-eaten or dotted with craters. The winter diet of squirrels is supplemented with fungus. Their acute sense of smell helps them detect mushrooms that remain hidden beneath leaves and branches. Woodpeckers hollow out nests in old trees decayed by the activity of such fungi as shelf fungus. The woodpeckers in turn gather spores in their tail-feathers which are used as props against the bark of the tree.