Hirsutella sp. (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) Affecting the Invasive Social Wasp Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Southern Chile

Identity, Prevalence, and Pathogenicity of Entomopathogenic Fungi Infecting Invasive Polistes (Vespidae: Polistinae) Paper Wasps in New Zealand

“…Following phylogenetic analysis and unification of dual nomenclature, Hirsutella species have been revised as hirsutelloid asexual morphs of Ophiocordyceps [ 73 , 83 ]. The distinctive morphology, microscopic characters, and ecology of this species strongly suggests the identity Ophiocordyceps humbertii , in the hirsutelloid form previously known as H. saussurei, the only Hirsutella species recorded from wasp hosts [ 11 , 72 , 75 , 77 , 84 , 85 ]. Similarly, Ophiocordyceps humbertii is the only hirsutelloid Ophiocordyceps known to infect Vespid wasps [ 77 , 86 ].…”

“…The distinctive morphology, microscopic characters, and ecology of this species strongly suggests the identity Ophiocordyceps humbertii , in the hirsutelloid form previously known as H. saussurei, the only Hirsutella species recorded from wasp hosts [ 11 , 72 , 75 , 77 , 84 , 85 ]. Similarly, Ophiocordyceps humbertii is the only hirsutelloid Ophiocordyceps known to infect Vespid wasps [ 77 , 86 ]. It was first described by Speare [ 84 ] as a parasite of Polistes spp., and is frequently reported infecting Polistine and Vespine wasps [ 11 , 75 , 77 , 78 , 87 , 88 ].…”

“…Microscopic examination of isolated synnemata from this fungus confirmed presence of characters matching those described for hirsutelloid Ophiocordyceps spp. [ 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. The mature synnemata of collected specimens were up to 12 mm long and 0.3–1.2 mm wide, arising from all over the host body at joints and inter-sclerite membranes, especially from between the thoracic and abdominal tergites.…”

Polistes versicolor (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), an Introduced Wasp in the Galapagos Islands: Its Life Cycle and Ecological Impact

“…Robin) Sung et al (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae), which was found infecting 14 social wasp species in Brazil (Somavilla et al 2020). Extensive research is still required to better understand entomopathogenic fungi associated with social wasps in South America and their impact on these species (Montalva et al 2017).…”

First record of Hirsutella saussurei in the Galápagos Islands and first evidence parasitizing the invasive paper wasp, Polistes versicolor

“…have been described infesting several groups of insects (Evans and Samson, 1982;Iturriaga, 2014). In the literature, Hirsutella saussurei (Cooke) Speare (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) has been recorded from several countries parasitizing both Polistes (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) and other vespid wasps (Vosseler, 1902;Speare, 1920;Petch, 1924Petch, , 1948Mains, 1951;Tanada, 1956;Ulloa and Benavides, 1991;Tzean et al, 1997;Rose et al, 1999;Van Vooren and Audibert, 2005;Luangsaard et al, 2008;Montalva et al, 2017), although the Polistes hosts are only described in a few studies: Polistes americanus (Fabricius) (Cooke, 1892) latter considered as synonymous name of the species Polistes crinitus (Felton) (Carpenter, 1996), Polistes rubiginosus Latreille (Mains, 1951), Polistes annularis Linnaeus (Speare, 1920) and Polistes olivaceus DeGeer (Van Vooren and Audibert, 2005).…”