An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that kills, or parasitizes and seriously disables, insects. Divisions Chytridiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Fungus growing on a tree in Borneo A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets...

Grasshoppers killed by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales)

Green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, killed by Pandora neoaphidis (Zygomycota: Entomophthorales) Scale bar = 0.3 mm.

These fungi usually attach to the external body surface of insects in the form of microscopic spores (usually asexual, mitosporic spores also called conidia). Under permissive conditions of temperature and (usually high) moisture, these spores germinate, grow as hyphae and colonize the insect's cuticle; eventually they bore through it and reach the insects' body cavity (hemocoel). Then, the fungal cells proliferate to a variable extent in the host body cavity, usually as walled hyphae or in the form of wall-less protoplasts (depending on the fungus involved). After a variable period of time the insect is usually killed (sometimes by fungal toxins) and new propagules (spores) are formed in/on the insect if enviromental conditions are again permissive; usually high humidity is required for sporulation. Image File history File links Grasshoppers killed by the fungus Beauveria bassiana. ... Image File history File links Grasshoppers killed by the fungus Beauveria bassiana. ... Families Superfamily: Proscopioidea Proscopiidae Superfamily: Eumastacoidea Eumastacidae Thericleidae Superfamily: Xyronotoidea Tanaoceridae Xyrotonotidae Superfamily: Pampagoidea Pamphagidae Superfamily: Pyrgomorphoidea Pyrgomorphidae Superfamily: Trigonopteryguidea Borneancrididae Trigonopterygidae Superfamily: Acridoidea Acrididae Cyrtacanthacridinae Romaleidae Superfamily: Tetrigoidea Batrachideidae Tetrigidae Superfamily: Tridactyloidea Tridactylidae Ripipterygidae Superfamily: Cylindrichaetoidea Cylindrichaetidea Unknown: Charilaidae Dericorythidae Euschmidtiidae Lathiceridae Lentulidae Lithidiidae Ommexechidae Pneumoridae Pyrgacrididae Tridactylidae Tristiridae... Binomial name Beauveria bassiana (Bals. ... Classes Archaeascomycetes Discomycetes Euascomycetes Hemiascomycetes Lecanoromycetes Neolectomycetes Pezizomycotina Pneumocystidomycetes Saccharomycotina Schizosaccharomycetes Taphrinomycetes Mitosporic Ascomycota Members of the Division Ascomycota are known as the Sac Fungi and are fungi that produce spores in a distinctive type of microscopic sporangium called an ascus (Greek for a bag or wineskin). This monophyletic grouping... Genera Gibberella Hypocrea Hypomyces Nectria Hypocreales is a taxonomic order within the class Sordariomycetes. ... Families There are 10 families: Adelgidae - adelgids, conifer aphids Anoeciidae Aphididae Drepanosiphidae Homomasagymibutae Greenideidae Hormaphididae Lachnidae Mindaridae Pemphigidae Phloeomyzidae Phylloxeridae Thelaxidae Aphids, also known as greenfly/blackfly or plantlice, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Aphidoidea in the homopterous division of the order Hemiptera. ... Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, are a division of fungi. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Conidia are asexual spores of fungus. ... A hypha (plural hyphae) is a long, branching filament that, with other hyphae, forms the feeding thallus of a fungus called the mycelium. ... In botany the cuticle is the waxy covering produced by the epidermal cells of leaves to protect the plant from excessive water loss. ... 1. ... For a list of biologically injurious substances, including toxins and other materials, as well as their effects, see poison. ... Sporulation is the process by which a fungal cell, amoeba, fern or protozoan becomes a spore. ...

The entomopathogenic fungi include taxa from several of the main fungal groups and do not form a monophyletic group. Many common and/or important entomopathogenic fungi are in the order Hypocreales of the Ascomycota: the asexual (anamorphic) phases Beauveria, Metarhizium, Nomuraea, Paecilomyces = Isaria, Hirsutella and the sexual state Cordyceps; others (Entomophthora, Zoophthora, Pandora, Entomophaga) belong in the order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota. A taxon (plural taxa) is an element of a taxonomy, e. ... In phylogenetics, a group is monophyletic (Greek: of one stem) if all organisms in that group are known to have developed from a common ancestral form, and all descendants of that form are included in the group. ... Genera Gibberella Hypocrea Hypomyces Nectria Hypocreales is a taxonomic order within the class Sordariomycetes. ... Classes Archaeascomycetes Discomycetes Euascomycetes Hemiascomycetes Lecanoromycetes Neolectomycetes Pezizomycotina Pneumocystidomycetes Saccharomycotina Schizosaccharomycetes Taphrinomycetes Mitosporic Ascomycota Members of the Division Ascomycota are known as the Sac Fungi and are fungi that produce spores in a distinctive type of microscopic sporangium called an ascus (Greek for a bag or wineskin). This monophyletic grouping... Anamorphic widescreen is a cinematography and photography technique for capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35mm film. ... Binomial name Beauveria bassiana (Bals. ... Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi, the most famous of which is the vegetable caterpillar — Cordyceps sinensis. ... Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, are a division of fungi. ...

Related fungi attack and kill other invertebrates (e.g nematodes). Invertebrate is a term coined by Chevalier de Lamarck to describe any animal without a backbone or vertebra, like insects, squids and worms. ... Classes Adenophora    Subclass Enoplia    Subclass Chromadoria Secernentea    Subclass Rhabditia    Subclass Spiruria    Subclass Diplogasteria The roundworms (Phylum Nematoda) are one of the most common phyla of animals, with over 20,000 different described species. ...

Use of entomopathogenic fungi in the biological control of pests

Since they are considered natural mortality agents and enviromentally safe, there is worldwide interest in the utilization and manipulation of entomopathogenic fungi for biological control of insects and other arthropod pests. In particular, the asexual phases of Ascomycota (Beauveria, Metarhizium, Paecilomyces and others) are under intense scrutiny due to the traits favoring their use as bioinsecticides. Biological control of pests and diseases Overview A key belief of the organic gardener is that diversity furthers health. ...

Production. Most entomopathogenic fungi can be grown on artificial media. However, some require extremely complex media; others, like Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, can be grown on starch-rich substrates like cereal grains (rice, wheat). Binomial name Beauveria bassiana (Bals. ...

Virulence. The Entomophthorales are often reported as causing high levels of mortality (epizootics) in nature. These fungi are highly virulent. The anamorphic Ascomycota (Metarhizium, Beauveria etc.) are reported as causing epizootics less frequently in nature. Virulence is a term used to refer to either the relative pathogenicity or the relative ability to do damage to the host of an infectious agent. ...

Also important are their properties regarding specificity (host range), storage, formulation, and application. Formulation ...

See the desert locust page for use of Metarhizium as a bioinsecticide. Binomial name Schistocerca gregaria Forsskål, 1775 Plagues of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East and Asia for centuries. ...

External links

• [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/hri2/research/entomopathogenicfungi_/ Entomopathogens and microbial control], from the University of Warwick
• Insect mycology, by Dr. Richard A. Humber
• USDA-ARS Collection of Entomopathogenic Fungi