Author
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Riddick, Eric |
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Schaefer, Paul |
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Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2006 Publication Date: 4/1/2006 Citation: Riddick, E. W., Schaefer, P. W. 2006. Parasitic fungus found on multicolored asian lady beetle at overwintering site in Pennsylvania. Meeting Abstract. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: A coccinellid-specific parasitic fungus, Hesperomyces virescens Thaxter, was found on the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), in fall and winter seasons at an overwintering site in Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania. Research objectives were (1) to determine the density of H. virescens on field-collected H. axyridis adults held in the laboratory, and (2) to determine H. virescens presence, density and distribution on H. axyridis adults in the field. In the laboratory, male and female H. axyridis adults hosted more than 150 H. virescens mature thalli (i. e., fruiting bodies); distributed primarily on the elytra and abdomen. At the overwintering site, H. virescens density per host was often less than 20 mature thalli, which were distributed primarily on the elytra of both sexes. This study suggests that H. virescens is an established parasite of H. axyridis in Pennsylvania but field estimates of infection may vary considerably between dates that adult beetles arrive and depart from overwintering sites. Preponderance of fungal thalli on the dorsum rather than the ventrum of H. axyridis males suggest that mating behavior is not solely responsible for transmission of H. virescens from infected to non-infected lady beetles. |
