''Hesperomyces'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Laboulbeniaceae The Laboulbeniaceae are a family of fungi in the order Laboulbeniales. Taxa have a widespread distribution, and are parasitic to various orders of insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insect ...

. The genus contains ten species, including the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, the Green Beetle Hanger (''

Hesperomyces virescens ''Hesperomyces'' is a genus of fungi in the family Laboulbeniaceae. The genus contains ten species, including the type species, the Green Beetle Hanger ('' Hesperomyces virescens''). ''H. virescens'' is a complex of species. It is an ecopa ...

''). ''H. virescens'' is a complex of species. It is an ecoparasite of an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

to Europe and the Americas, the harlequin ladybird (''

Harmonia axyridis ''Harmonia axyridis'' is a large lady beetle or ladybug species that is most commonly known as the harlequin, multicoloured Asian, or Asian lady beetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of col ...

''). Laboratory bioassays pointed out that ''Hesperomyces''-infected

ladybirds Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

suffered increased mortality rates. The fungus completes its entire life cycle on the tough outer layer or

integument In biology, an integument is the tissue surrounding an organism's body or an organ within, such as skin, a husk, shell, germ or rind. Etymology The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a covering". In a transferred, or ...

of a living host where individual fruiting bodies or

thalli Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms were ...

are formed directly from

ascospores An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

. The thalli can form on any part of the insect, but spore germination likely only occurs once the host cuticle has hardened. The spores are believed to have a short life span. Due to the spores' sticky nature, they are not transmitted by contact with substrate or the air. Instead they are spread directly by host activities and it is suggested that transmission occurs during feeding and mating season when sexual contact occurs, therefore making ''H. virescens'' a sexually transmitted disease of insects. CC-BY icon

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Species

*'' Hesperomyces auriculatus'' *'' Hesperomyces biphylli'' *'' Hesperomyces catopii'' *'' Hesperomyces chilomenis'' *'' Hesperomyces coccinelloides'' *'' Hesperomyces coleomegillae'' *'' Hesperomyces harmoniae'' *'' Hesperomyces hyperaspidis'' *'' Hesperomyces palustris'' *'' Hesperomyces papuanus'' *''

References

Laboulbeniomycetes Laboulbeniomycetes genera Taxa described in 1891 {{Ascomycota-stub