Abstract
Entomophthoralean and ascomycetous fungi are the two major groups known to parasitize arthropods in almost every terrestrial habitat of the earth. Within Ascomycota, Cordyceps sensu lato is a large genus with more than 400 spp. described on numerous orders of Arthropoda. Among the hosts of Cordyceps, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are the two major orders. Out of the estimated 200 Cordyceps spp. recorded on coleopteran and lepidopteran hosts, we have documented 92 spp. based on the available information of their host species. Among coleopteran hosts, Scarabaeidae and Elateridae are the two major families. Similarly, among lepidopterans, Hepialidae is the largest host family. Cordyceps militaris shows the widest host range, extending to 2 orders, 13 families, and 32 spp. We hope such accumulative work will be useful as a quick reference for interested biologists, forest ecologists, biocontrol researchers, and fungal and insect taxonomists to apprehend host range and host specificities of Cordyceps fungi.
Highlights
Fungi play vital roles in the recycling of organic matter in the terrestrial habitat of the earth
Why lepidopterans and coleopterans are mostly susceptible at larval stage while other orders are more susceptible at adult stage is not well understood
When the host stage is adult, they grow on exposed environments such as leaf litter or are attached to some plant parts such as leaf and branch and in contrast to the larval or pupal stages that are buried in soil or on wood up to nearly 50 cm, for example, O. longissima [75] and O. xuefengensis [76]
Summary
Fungi play vital roles in the recycling of organic matter in the terrestrial habitat of the earth. Cordyceps Fr. is one of the hypocrealean genera, comprising more than 400 spp. that parasitize a wide range of insects and few fungal genera They produce clavate, cylindrical or thin filamentous, filiform stroma on the hosts. Segregated genera Ophiocordyceps and Elaphocordyceps were placed under another family Ophiocordycipitaceae; the other two genera Metacordyceps and Tyrannicordyceps remained in Clavicipitaceae sensu stricto [14, 19]. The host range of Cordyceps in classical sense is very broad and includes several orders (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Araneae, Diptera, Blattodea, Mantodea, Dermaptera, Odonata, Phasmatodea, etc.). Majority of hosts in other orders are adults such as spiders (Araneae), fly (Diptera), ant, bee, and wasp (Hymenoptera), grasshopper, locust, and cricket (Orthoptera), cicada, bug, scale-insect, and coccid (Hemiptera), cockroach and termite (Blattodea), mantis (Mantodea), earwig (Dermaptera), dragonfly (Odonata), and stick-insect (Phasmatodea). Why lepidopterans and coleopterans are mostly susceptible at larval stage while other orders are more susceptible at adult stage is not well understood
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