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Parasitic Fungi on a Moth

Akanthomyces aranearum

Description:

White fungus growing on a dead moth.

Habitat:

Found on an oak tree.

Notes:

There are over 1000 species of entomopathogens. Most of their spores are adhesive. They land on an insects cuticle and stay there until they germinate. Species attacking above ground insects commonly attach their host in an exposed aerial position using hyphae which grow into a plant. This provides an advantageous position for spore dispersal.

1 Species ID Suggestions



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6 Comments

Neil Ross
Neil Ross 3 years ago

Interesting spotting, Tom. Thanks for sharing.

flowntheloop
flowntheloop 3 years ago

@Tom the structure of the fruiting bodies and their growth pattern. :) Matches more closely with A. aranearum.

tomk3886
tomk3886 3 years ago

Im curious what caused you to change your ID suggestion flowntheloop? Thanks for all the fungi identifications and bringing jungledragon to my attention. Fungi are a challenge for me to identify.

flowntheloop
flowntheloop 3 years ago

@tom I think I may have made a mistake. I think this is actually Akanthomyces aranearum!
https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/1711...

tomk3886
tomk3886 3 years ago

Thanks for the ID flowntheloop

Leuba Ridgway
Leuba Ridgway 3 years ago

Poor moth but great spotting and notes ! Thanks.

tomk3886
Spotted by
tomk3886

Tallahassee, Florida, United States

Spotted on Jan 27, 2021
Submitted on Jan 29, 2021

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