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fusarium-concentricum-fungus-infecting-insect

Multi-panel image with several close-up photographs of a dead insect larva or pupa covered in a white fungal growth, identified as Fusarium concentricum. The fungus appears as circular patterns of white growth on the insect's body. In the bottom right two panels are an overhead view of a circular petri dish entirely filled with the white fungus.

Several species of fungus in the genus Fusarium are known to infect insects, while some also infect plants. Researchers in China report the first observation of the species Fusarium concentricum infecting an insect—in this case a key moth pest of Chinese fir trees. Shown here are dead larvae and pupae of the moth Polychrosis cunninhamiacola infected with Fusarium concentricum (a-e), along with front and rear views of a petri dish with the fungi isolated from the dead insects (f-g). (Image originally published in Qiu et al 2023, Journal of Insect Science)

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