Abstract
An important group of fungal insect parasites is the Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota). These are microscopic in size and live attached to the cuticle of their arthropod hosts. Rickia wasmannii is a common European species limited to the ant genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). We present new records of R. wasmannii in the Netherlands on three host species: Myrmica ruginodis, M. sabuleti, and M. scabrinodis. Our data show a mass infection of M. sabuleti by R. wasmannii. The average parasite prevalence is 38% (n = 3,876). The prevalence was much lower on the other Myrmica species. So far, R. wasmannii infections have been found only on Myrmica species in the rubra-group and the scabrinodis-group. We provide possible explanations for this observation. To date, Rickia wasmannii is known on nine Myrmica species in sixteen European countries; an overview is included in tabulated form.
Highlights
The order Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniomycetes) consists of microscopic ectoparasites of Arthropoda, mostly true insects
The highest parasite prevalence was found on Myrmica sabuleti: 38% (n = 3,876; Figure 2)
When we look at Rickia prevalence over the 29 traps series instead of at the level of individual workers, the same pattern emerges: infected M. sabuleti workers in 15 series, infected M. scabrinodis in five series, and infected M. ruginodis in only one series
Summary
The order Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniomycetes) consists of microscopic ectoparasites of Arthropoda, mostly true insects. Within the subphylum Hexapoda representatives of nine orders are known as hosts (Weir and Hammond 1997): Blattodea, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Mallophaga, Orthoptera, and Thysanoptera. [Note that the termites, previously ranked in the order Isoptera, were recently included in the order Blattodea, based on phylogenetic data (Beccaloni and Eggleton 2013).] In addition, Acari (subphylum Cheliceriformes) and Diplopoda (subphylum Myriapoda) are known to host Laboulbeniales (Haelewaters et al 2012, Weir and Hammond 1997). Within the order Hymenoptera, only ants (family Formicidae) host Laboulbeniales. (for a short review, see Santamaría and Espadaler 2014; fungal names updated to meet most recent revisions) Laboulbenia formicarum Thaxt., Rickia wasmannii Cavara, and the recently described Rickia lenoirii Santam. (for a short review, see Santamaría and Espadaler 2014; fungal names updated to meet most recent revisions)
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