Drechmeria gunnii

1 Dark Vegetable Caterpillar at suppressed

Drechmeria gunnii at suppressed - 13 Jul 2022
Drechmeria gunnii at suppressed - 13 Jul 2022
Drechmeria gunnii at suppressed - 13 Jul 2022
Drechmeria gunnii at suppressed - 13 Jul 2022
Drechmeria gunnii at suppressed - 13 Jul 2022
Request use of media

Identification history

Drechmeria gunnii 25 Jul 2022 MichaelMulvaney
Drechmeria gunnii 25 Jul 2022 TimL

Identify this sighting


Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.

7 comments

RogerF wrote:
   26 Jul 2022
Interesting second small picture showing a protruding pupal case suggesting a successful emergence of a ghost moth.
TimL wrote:
   26 Jul 2022
Hi Roger. The ground around the area with these fungi was littered with pupal casings when we first found it some weeks ago. Hopefully, lots of successful moth emergences. Tim
RogerF wrote:
   26 Jul 2022
What proption do you think were parasitsed by the fungus?
TimL wrote:
   26 Jul 2022
Possibly 15 to 20%. For every fungus we saw above the ground in this area there would have been around 5 pupal cases. However, the fungi were growing in an area of sandy soil with leaf litter off to the side of a path. Many of the pupal cases were scattered around this area, including on the path. Not all were within it. I guess the fungus mycelium (?) within the ground doesn't yet extend much beyond this patch of ground where the fungi are appearing above the surface.
Heino1 wrote:
   27 Jul 2022
My guess is that, in a parasite such as this (with a fairly specific host preference), the mycelium would be confined to the host. If so, we'd be seeing the results of independent infections here.
RogerF wrote:
   27 Jul 2022
Correct Heino, the mycelium is confined to the larva that is originally infected by swallowing a Dreichmeria spore on the vegetation when it comes to the surface to feed at night
TimL wrote:
   28 Jul 2022
Thanks for this description of the process Roger, Heino.

Please Login or Register to comment.

Sighting information

  • 10 Abundance
  • 13 Jul 2022 12:35 PM Recorded on
  • TimL Recorded by

Species information

Record quality

  • Overall Fit for scientific/research use
  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Confirmed by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
2,154,184 sightings of 19,955 species in 6,498 locations from 11,452 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.