Entomophthora sp. (genus)

1 Puppeteer Fungus at Denman Prospect, ACT

Entomophthora sp. (genus) at Denman Prospect, ACT - 17 Jul 2020
Entomophthora sp. (genus) at Denman Prospect, ACT - 17 Jul 2020
Entomophthora sp. (genus) at Denman Prospect, ACT - 17 Jul 2020
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Identification history

Entomophthora sp. (genus) 17 Jul 2020 MichaelMulvaney
Entomophthora muscae 17 Jul 2020 trevorpreston
Entomophthora muscae 17 Jul 2020 trevorpreston
Entomophthora sp. 17 Jul 2020 trevorpreston
Entomophthora sp. 17 Jul 2020 trevorpreston
Unidentified 17 Jul 2020 trevorpreston

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6 comments

AlisonMilton wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
This has the same fungal infection as the ones I found in Holt near Strathnairn.
trevorpreston wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
I thought i had seen this somewhere before, it mustve been one of your photos. I shouldve put this in under Fungi instead of insects.
trevorpreston wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
I have quite a few books on fungi but i cant find anything like this. Cordyceps is closest, but looks nothing like this as far as I can tell.
trevorpreston wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
After a bit of internet searching Ive suggested Entomophthora sp. You can read a bit about them here.
https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/flies-meet-gruesome-end-under-influence-of-puppeteer-fungus/
AlisonMilton wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
The comment I received from Ken was 'It is one of what is known as entomopathogenic fungi many of which occur in the orders Entomophthorales and Hypocreales. I suspect this a species of Entomophthora but I'm not familiar enough with these groups to be sure what you have found without examination under a compound microscope.' I was hoping to go back and find specimen to collect., but I don't drive and haven't gotten back there. Any chance you could find it again and collect a specimen for examination?
AlisonMilton wrote:
   17 Jul 2020
By the way, the fly was identified as Helina sp. (genus) and this looks like the same fly.

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 17 Jul 2020 02:43 PM Recorded on
  • trevorpreston Recorded by

Additional information

  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size

Species information

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  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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