Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

[OM] any entomologist?

Subject: [OM] any entomologist?
From: Dean Hansen <hanse112@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:49:03 -0500
    Martyn recently posted several shots of two ladybird beetles, one of 
which "appears to be covered in fungus," and he asked if there were "any 
entomologists among us who can provide a diagnosis?" I guess I'm the OM 
List's resident entomologist, so I'll try to add a bit. 
    I've seen numerous examples of insects killed by fungus infections; 
unfortunately, I've never tried photographing one.  Sometimes they will 
look similar to the ladybird beetle in the last of Martyn's shots, that 
is, covered with fibers or strands.  Or they may simply be dead, with no 
external evidence of fungi.  I remember one dead grasshopper perched on 
a grass stem--it had a single long, curved fungal fruiting body emerging 
from its head which looked much like the flexible ray gun that emerged 
from the aliens' space ship in the '50s movie War of the Worlds. 
    I tried Google Images with "fungal diseases of insects" and came up 
with:  http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/articles/archive/charnleylecture.html
    The ladybird beetle in Martyn's last shot is a little tough to 
call--it almost looks like it walked through fine dust.  It's either 
covered with dust or succumbed to a fungal disease. 
Dean

==============================================
List usage info:     http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies:        olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz