Biology:Hesperomyces
Hesperomyces is a genus of fungi in the family Laboulbeniaceae. The genus contains at least fifteen species.[1][2]
Most of them are ectoparasites of ladybirds (Coccinellidae), only He. biphylli is reported from Biphyllidae and He. catopii from Mycetophagidae, but their status as species within the genus needs confirmation.[3]
The type species is the Green Beetle Hanger (Hesperomyces virescens).[4] H. virescens (s.l.) is a complex of species.[5] He. harmoniae, a member of this complex, is an ectoparasite of an invasive species to Europe and the Americas,[6] the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis).[7] Laboratory bioassays pointed out that He. virescens (s.l.)-infected ladybirds suffered increased mortality rates.[8]
The fungus completes its entire life cycle on the tough outer layer or integument of a living host where individual fruiting bodies or thalli are formed directly from ascospores. The thalli can form on any part of the insect, but spore germination likely only occurs once the host cuticle has hardened. The spores are believed to have a short life span. Due to the spores' sticky nature, they are not transmitted by contact with substrate or the air. Instead they are spread directly by host activities and it is suggested that transmission occurs during feeding and mating season when sexual contact occurs, therefore making H. virescens (s.l.) a sexually transmitted disease of insects.[9]
Species
- Hesperomyces virescens species complex or He. virescens sensu lato (s.l.):[3]
- Hesperomyces chilocori-bipustulati Van Caenegem & Haelew. (2025)[1][2][3]
- Hesperomyces coccinellae-transversalis Van Caenegem & Haelew. (2025)[1][2][3]
- Hesperomyces halyziae Haelew. & De Kesel (2020)[1][2][10]
- Hesperomyces harmoniae Haelew. (2022)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces parexochomi Mironova & Haelew. (2021)[1][2][3]
- Hesperomyces virescens Thaxt. (1891)[1][2] (He. virescens s.s.[3])
- Other species:
- Hesperomyces auriculatus W.Rossi & M.Leonardi (2018)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces biphylli K.Sugiy. & T.Majewski (1985)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces catopii Thaxt. (1931)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces chilomenis (Thaxt.) Thaxt. (1931)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces coccinelloides (Thaxt.) Thaxt. (1931)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces coleomegillae W.Rossi & A.Weir (2014)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces hyperaspidis Thaxt. (1931)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces palustris W.Rossi & A.Weir (2014)[1][2]
- Hesperomyces papuanus T.Majewski & K.Sugiy. (1985)[1][2]
He. coccinelloides may be a species complex.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 "Index Fungorum". Index Fungorum Partnership. https://www.indexfungorum.org.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 "MycoBank Database". International Mycological Association (IMA) and the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute. https://www.mycobank.org.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Van Caenegem, Warre; Merzoug, Aicha; Ceryngier, Piotr; Biranvand, Amir; Boualem, Malika; Nisha Musa, Nadia; Verbeken, Annemieke; Yaakop, Salmah et al. (2025). "Two new species of ectoparasitic microfungi within the Hesperomyces virescens complex from Algeria, Italy, and Malaysia". Mycological Progress (Springer) 24 (2). doi:10.1007/s11557-024-02020-9. Bibcode: 2025MycPr..24....2V. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11557-024-02020-9.pdf. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ↑ "Ladybug Fungi :Cornell Mushroom Blog". https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2014/01/17/ladybug-fungi/.
- ↑ Haelewaters, Danny; De Kesel, André; Pfister, Donald H. (2018). "Integrative taxonomy reveals hidden species within a common fungal parasite of ladybirds" (in en). Scientific Reports 8 (1): 15966. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34319-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMID 30374135. Bibcode: 2018NatSR...815966H.
- ↑ Werenkraut, Victoria; Baudino, Florencia; Roy, Helen E. (July 7, 2020). "Citizen science reveals the distribution of the invasive harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis Pallas) in Argentina". Biological Invasions 22 (10): 2915–2921. doi:10.1007/s10530-020-02312-7. Bibcode: 2020BiInv..22.2915W. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-020-02312-7. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ↑ Roy, Helen E.; Brown, Peter M. J.; Adriaens, Tim; Berkvens, Nick; Borges, Isabel; Clusella-Trullas, Susana; Comont, Richard F.; De Clercq, Patrick et al. (2016). "The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis: global perspectives on invasion history and ecology" (in en). Biological Invasions 18 (4): 997–1044. doi:10.1007/s10530-016-1077-6. ISSN 1387-3547. Bibcode: 2016BiInv..18..997R. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10530-016-1077-6.
- ↑ Haelewaters, Danny; Hiller, Thomas; Kemp, Emily A.; van Wielink, Paul S.; Shapiro-Ilan, David I.; Aime, M. Catherine; Nedvěd, Oldřich; Pfister, Donald H. et al. (2020). "Mortality of native and invasive ladybirds co-infected by ectoparasitic and entomopathogenic fungi" (in en). PeerJ 8. doi:10.7717/peerj.10110. ISSN 2167-8359. PMID 33194385.
- ↑ Haelewaters, Danny; Minnaar, Ingrid A.; Clusella-Trullas, Susana (2016). "First finding of the parasitic fungus Hesperomyces virescens (Laboulbeniales) on native and invasive ladybirds (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) in South Africa". Parasite 23: 5. doi:10.1051/parasite/2016005. ISSN 1252-607X. PMID 26861616. 50px Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- ↑ "Checklist of thallus-forming Laboulbeniomycetes from Belgium and the Netherlands, including Hesperomyces halyziae and Laboulbenia quarantenae spp. nov.". MycoKeys (71): 23–86. 2020. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.71.53421. PMID 32831551.
- ↑ Ceryngier, Piotr; Romanowski, Jerzy; Van Caenegem, Warre; Haelewaters, Danny (12 February 2024). "Parasitism of ladybirds by Hesperomyces in the Canary Islands". Arthropod-Plant Interactions (Springer Nature) 18: 651–664. doi:10.1007/s11829-024-10040-1. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11829-024-10040-1.pdf. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
Wikidata ☰ Q5746029 entry
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