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Photo#586765
Odd Bug

Odd Bug
chester, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA
October 12, 2011

Images of this individual: tag all
Odd Bug Odd Bug

Akanthomyces sp.
At least that's what we used to call these Lepidoptera covered in a spikey spandex suit of long yellow spines. Now with the "One Fungus, One Name" rule, things get complicated. These infections can often produce both teleomorphic (sexual) and anamorphic (asexual) structures on a single host. Not long ago, such an entomopathogen would be identified by two names: as in Akanthomyces pistillariiformis for the anamorph and Cordyceps tuberculata for the teleomorph, to use a relevant example. Now that we know each stage to be two sides of the same organismal coin, one name must take priority. From what little I know of the migraine-inducing intricacies of the nomenclatural code as it pertains to fungi, the older name reigns supreme in almost all cases. That means that genera whose utterances once instantly produced a particular mental image of a particular morphology are not so cleanly delineated anymore. Strictly speaking, this critter is either an Akanthomyces sp. or Cordyceps sp., depending on the species and its name priority.

 
I'm no expert
but I think there is a flaw in the explanation. From what little I know I agree that "the older name reigns supreme in almost all cases", but I believe that that also applies to the genera - doesn't it? Therefore, whichever genus was described first (Akanthomyces or Cordyceps) that "older name reigns supreme", and then the species names would all be applied to that genus - with the older individual species name reigning supreme for each organism.

Moved
Moved from Moths.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Seems to be a moth
The fungus might be related to the one shown here:

fungus
It's a bug with a fungus. See article here.

 
fungus
guess it isn't gonna live much longer than...thanks for showing me the link I couldn't find anything about it :)

 
scary
scary

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